pairing: jake sully x neytiri, x tsu'tey x fem!human!reader
summary: a scientist arrives on pandora (unwillingly) a year after the exile of the rda. now she must deal with the likes of a clan leader, a great warrior, and a thanator rider. . .
word count: 7.k
read on AO3
15 October 2146
Dear Joan Reeds,
Hi Mom.
I know we’ve been sending video diaries to each other since you went to Pandora a year ago and this might be a little strange, but I thought writing this to you would be a lot more impersonal than sending a video. I don’t know, watching myself emote on camera has always made me uncomfortable—so when I respond to your video diaries, know that I’m actually excited to see them and not incredibly bored as I appear.
If that’s why you’ve stopped sending videos, because you think I’m bored of them, I promise you I’m not. And I miss your videos…
Year 2150
“—Unfortunately, your mother, along with the rest of the twelve other scientists had died before we were able to get them into quarantine.” One out of the three in military uniforms said.
You don’t quite remember how you got here.
Last you checked, your mother, Joan, was leaving for a huge project located on a discovered moon in the Alpha Centauri System. Pandora. An inhabited planet that the human population hoped to relocate. To find a newer home. Instead of the dying planet they created.
Joan had been accepted into the Avatar Program, a branch of the big project that had less to do with taking and more so giving. She, an esteemed scientist herself, would get to work with others like her. To explore a planet you only saw in dreams.
Dreams that would remain that way for a while.
You were only an apprentice at the time, ten years before 2150. Therefore, unqualified to accompany your mother on this new adventure. All you could do was be happy for her, even if she would be gone for a long, long time. But it was hard to be angry at that fact, remembering vividly how your mother looked before she left.
Identical eyes staring lovingly and worriedly back at you. Manic worry if anything.
“I want you to watch over the forest while I’m gone.” Joan laughed at your stunned expression. “You’ve been studying under me for years now, don’t be so shocked! You’ve followed me like a loyal shadow. My little shadow. You are the Head of the Amazon Division now. I trust you’ll continue my work.”
“Mom—I—are you sure?” A younger version of you asked. Ten years earlier you. “What if—how do you know? That I’m even ready? Surely there are more qualified scientists—”
Joan grinned, another identical trait you shared with her. “You have as much love for the Earth as I do. You have this determination, unlike any, to save it. To save what is left of this dying world, our home. Some might find it naïve. Others might discover a whole new planet to live on.” You smiled as she chuckled at that. “Yes, you will work with my second-in-command, he will show you the ropes—not like you already don’t know it—but he will be by your side until you are old enough to officially take over. But I have no doubt you can do it. And I need you to believe it too.”
There was a certain glow in your eye that matched your alight and determined face. This childlike wonder. This unyielding ball of hope that was you.
You nodded surely, holding her hand tightly, “I’ll do it. I’ll keep it safe for you.”
“Promise?”
You pressed your lips into a line, “Do you wanna pinky swear on it?”
Joan gasped, her face lighting up instantly. “I thought you’d never ask!”
Rolling your eyes at her excitement, you locked your pinky with hers. Tight and sure.
“I haven’t done this with you since I was five.”
“You’re never too old to make a promise!”
Joan then pulled you into a tight hug. Small drops of wetness fell onto your shoulder.
Neither of you said anything for a while.
She finally pulled away and pressed a kiss to your forehead. “I’ll come back for you. My little shadow.” That was her promise.
Then she walked out of the door. And all you could do was smile for her. You couldn’t even be sad.
The woman in uniform spoke up next. “Dr. Reeds? I know this is difficult information to process—"
You still didn’t remember how you got here.
Last you checked, Joan had been on Pandora for nearly five years now.
During those years, you managed to keep your promise in the beginning.
There were more trees planted, the water was becoming cleaner as the days rolled by, and you managed to gain some military protection for the forest—along with more researchers joining the cause.
During the first year of her in Pandora, your mother would send you video diaries of her time on Pandora, which prompted you to send videos back in reply. Showing your progress so far and everything you have accomplished.
One time she sent a video of her crying dramatically while holding up a picture of you as a toddler.
“Look what I found in my suitcase—sniffles—you were so small and cute back then—sniffles—guys look how cute my baby is!”
You remembered cringing and smacking your head against the table. Some of your colleagues also enjoyed a chuckle or two.
Tell me about the creatures and the plants. Take me on one of your treks through the forest in your avatar body. I enjoyed those videos the most. I always looked forward to them, even if you think I thought it was boring or too much of a lecture. I promise you it wasn’t.
I wasn’t mad about the baby picture by the way. Yes, maybe embarrassed—I was fourteen, Mom—but it’s nice that you took something with you to remember me by.
Also don’t worry about the forest, everything’s fine here. I saw all your emails asking about it. And I don’t want you to worry too much, not so much that it would ruin your experience up there. I have everything under control, Mom…
Sometimes the videos had nothing to do with talking. Joan one time sent a video of her sleepily talking to you about anything until she eventually fell asleep. The rest of the video would be of her sleeping.
You told her she didn’t have to send videos when she should be resting.
“I just want to see you, honey.” She would respond back. “Plus, talking to you is always a perfect end to my day.”
So you didn’t complain. Talking to her, seeing a new video arrive in your inbox always made your worst days just a bit brighter.
After the first year, Joan stopped sending videos. You didn’t think anything of it at first. All you assumed was that she was buried in her work. Which meant that whatever she was doing, must’ve been important. Life-changing even. And you weren’t going to interrupt that.
One year turned into two.
Two turned into three.
Four.
Four years of radio silence.
Scarily, you allowed yourself to wonder if she forgot about you.
And before you knew it, that thought abruptly left your mind in place of another.
The forest was on fire.
You remember rushing around the lab, grabbing every research hard drive, journal—anything important and belonging to your mother’s long hardworking years of work before it could be destroyed by the fire.
But. But none of it mattered.
The forest burned to the ground. Everything your mother worked for. Gone.
Gone. Gone. Gone.
“Dr. Reeds?”
Your hands were covered in ash and blisters.
She was dead. Her forest burned down a day ago.
Now the three in uniform stood with you in what was left of the forest. The grey daylight haunting in the smoke.
The mask you wore protected your facial expressions. “When did she…?”
One of the men cleared his throat. Two men and one woman. “Four years ago. A few months after she first arrived on the planet. Their lab was compromised with a deadly toxin—”
“You said that already.” You pointed out impassively.
The male nodded, “Right—We were sent straight after, unfortunately, the journey from Pandora to Earth takes…”
You turned away from them. You wanted to throw up. You want to scream and call them liars.
But you were older now. Emotions controlled. Face restrained.
There was a certain dullness in your eyes that matched your worn and solemn face. This beaten and bruised resolve. This unyielding wave of resentment that was you.
Your mother had been dead for four years.
Without you knowing about it until now.
Everything you had thought. Had assumed. It meant nothing.
You thought she had abandoned you. You thought you were alone.
Turns out she was already gone.
And you were still alone.
Blinking away ash—tears maybe, you couldn’t tell—and looked back at the three in uniform. “Alright. You told me. Thank you for coming.”
With that, you begin to walk away and continue cleaning the spot you’d been working on before the uniforms had approached. Dumping the burnt bark and ash of what used to be trees into a plastic bag.
“There’s one other thing, Dr. Reeds.” The woman spoke next. You tried not to scowl in irritation and reluctantly turned back to them. “Before your mother passed, she asked that you take her place.”
Your heart lurched and your body grew stiff.
“The late Dr. Reeds had made a lot of progress on some research that could’ve been beneficial for our organization and project.” The woman tucked her hands behind her back, back straight as she continued in a matter-of-fact tone. “We need someone like you who can continue the work without fail and who knows Dr. Reeds…particular work ethic.” You frowned at the wording. The woman—she seemed to be leading this small crusade. “We have an avatar waiting for you. All you need to do is come with us to Pandora.”
And there it was. Anyone would’ve seen this as a second chance. Another opportunity to fix your mother’s legacy. To keep your promise.
But all you saw was something else you could screw up. Something else for you to destroy by fire. Another way to fail her. The forest was gone. You had killed the forest. Now they wanted you to take your mother’s place—possibly to work on something shady that they have full control over. When was it enough?
When would people stop expecting you to be Joan Reeds? When would they see that you were nothing like her? That you weren’t their savior, that you weren’t someone to turn to whenever the original goal didn’t work? You were nothing. Everything you touched ended up destroyed. So why?
Why would your mother want you to take over her perfectly structured sculpture? When all you were was the hammer that shattered it down to pieces.
You tightened your jaw, “I’m good here. Again, thank you for coming.”
Once more, you tried walking away.
“Unfortunately, Dr. Reeds, it is not a request.” Now you were scowling at the woman, not bothering to hide the expression this time. “We’re in dire need of your mother’s expertise. She can identify resources that the RDA has collected—better than anyone. And we could use these sources to put those…our enemies in place. Heal poisons we have little information about. Your mother—”
“My mother, it seems, had no idea what she was getting into when she accepted that job for the Avatar Program.” You sized all three of them up with a quick resolve. “You’re RDA, correct? Hmm, my mother may not have seen it but I do. I see right through you all.” With that, you raised your chin and steeled your back. “So, for the last time. Thank you for coming. Now if you’ll excuse me, I just learned my own mother’s fucking dead. I’d like to take the time to grieve if you don’t mind.”
As you turned to leave again, your mind wandered. Your eyes stared bleakly at what used to be a beautiful forest. It used to be so life-like. So, so beautiful.
Your mother was gone. And so was her forest.
Maybe you should’ve seen it as a sign.
Mother dead. Forest gone.
And where were your tears?
You stopped walking suddenly when something sharp hit the back of your neck.
Instantly, without warning, your body crumbled to the ground with a thud.
Breathing was difficult. Your body couldn’t move. Black shoes filled your vision.
“Apologies, Doc. But I did say it wasn’t a request.”
Slipping from your control, everything went dark.
If you must know, your forest is making amazing progress. We planted exactly thirty more trees in the past two months and they’ve grown healthily! I’ll send you pictures of them once I’ve sent this letter.
But as I said before, there’s nothing for you to worry about here. If I wanted your help, I would’ve asked and you know this. You should be focusing on making life-changing discoveries on Pandora. Also, have you met Dr. Grace Augustine yet? I’ve just finished her book and I have many questions! Can you, possibly, maybe relay my questions to Dr. Augustine? If you’re not busy of course…
Year 2155
It had been a good day for Jake Sully.
A long and grueling hunt had ended with many other warriors succeeding in their finds, just enough to feed their families, enough to feed the entire clan.
His pride only swelled more when his mate and the current Olo’eyktan grinned proudly at him as they started their way back home.
“You’ve gotten better, ma’tiyawn.” Tsu’tey had said with a smirk.
Jake’s heart warmed, “Well, I had an amazing teacher.” Tsu’tey looked even more smug then until Jake added. “Tell Neytiri I said thanks.”
A huff left his mate's mouth and Jake laughed at his reaction. “Tell her yourself, skxawng!”
When they both returned to their new home—a new location after the Hometree was destroyed last year—it wasn’t long before their third mate, Neytiri made her way back from a hunt as well. And Jake was right. She had to be one of the best hunters of the clan as she came carrying back a rather large sturmbeest at her tail. Large enough for tonight’s celebration. She yipped loudly, raising her bow up in a cheer as she returned to the clan.
Jake and Tsu’tey couldn’t take their eyes off their mate.
Once she managed to get to them, Tsu’tey was the first to meet her in a warm and tight hug—careful to watch for the baby carrier strapped to her chest.
“And how was our boy’s first hunt?” Tsu’tey smiled down at the one-month-old child, their firstborn, Neteyam, who smiled at the sight of his papa. His smaller hands grabbed onto one of Tsu’tey’s fingers.
“He will make a great hunter.” Neytiri smiled down at him, grabbing Tsu’tey’s other hand. “And you? Did you find anything?”
Jake chuckled, looking back at the sturmbeest a few warriors carried by. “Not as good as you, babe. Let’s just say if we had made it a bet, you would’ve won easily.”
“What’s a bet?” Tsu’tey questioned, with a furrow in his brow.
“I’ll tell you later.”
When they made it back to their hut—Jake did a quick look around to find that it was empty. Sending a silent prayer to Eywa, which he found himself doing a lot more recently, he was relieved to find that Tsu’tey’s mother was nowhere in sight.
Artsut, who had been a frequent visitor to their home ever since Neteyam was born. Before then she had steered clear of their hut—not wanting to go anywhere near Jake. He was a demon, a false body, the stain on their clan. Jake was fine with her being away from the hut—that was when he could tolerate her the most.
But after Neteyam was born, after the perfect Na’vi baby had come out of Neytiri, Artsut came around more to care for her grandson. Which meant Jake had to deal with more of her comments and sneers—and he would. For his son.
Forcing Artsut to not see her grandson would’ve been too cruel—not just for his son but for Tsu’tey as well. Tsu’tey—who wanted to keep the peace between his mates and his mother. Tsu’tey, the only male in his family who is able to stand up to her and not take any of her shit.
So, Jake wasn’t worried for the most part. Artsut would play nice for Tsu’tey—her favorite son. Omatikaya’s rightful Olo’eyktan. And Jake would ignore her presence. A fair compromise.
Fortunately, he didn’t have to worry about seeing her now. Otherwise, his very good mood would be ruined.
“I went to see my mother today,” Neytiri said as she took Neteyam out of the carrier and gave him to Tsu’tey who was standing right next to her.
“For more training or something else?” Jake questioned, analyzing her body in a quick scan for any injuries he might’ve missed. “Are you okay?”
She smiled softly and pressed her hand to her stomach, “She told me that Eywa has blessed us with another child.”
Tsu’tey’s eyes widened and Jake’s mouth hung open. Neteyam watched them all quietly.
Neytiri looked down shyly, her ears fluttering, “I wanted to tell you at the celebration for a surprise but I couldn’t wait so—”
She didn’t get to finish as Tsu’tey launched himself at her, wrapping her in a tight hug, earning a joyous laugh from her. A large smile Jake hadn’t seen for a minute. Not since they first discovered Neteyam was coming.
Jake rushed over after placing his hunting equipment down, “You’re pregnant?” Neytiri nodded as Tsu’tey pulled away with a smile of his own. A grin broke out on his face as he pulled her in for a loving kiss, “Oh baby, I love you so much.”
All three of them joined together then—including Neteyam who giggled at their smiles. Sharing kisses, long hugs, and large smiles that they couldn’t contain.
Happiness was simple. That was what Jake believed.
He never thought he could achieve something like that. Not on Earth. Hell, no even on Pandora. Not after everything—but he worked hard for it. He kept going, wanting to prove to himself and his mates that he belonged there. That he was one of the People. That he would be a good mate. A good father.
And not something that destroys everything by a single touch.
Happiness was as simple as it was rare.
Whenever it came, Jake grasped onto it as tightly as he could. Because he never knew when he’d ever have it again.
He held on tight when Tsu’tey survived the battle against the Sky People. Nurtured it when Tsu’tey soon joined him and Neytiri in their union as mates. Loved it when Neteyam was born with his eyes and Neytiri’s markings.
But even then, even if he had a well-adjusted life a year into being on Pandora, Jake still had a long way to go. A long path to make up for all the strife he had caused.
For now, he would enjoy this night. He would enjoy being with his mates. He would enjoy this joyous celebration of the sturmbeest and the new life that would be here in nine months’ time.
It had been a good day for Jake Sully.
That night, Neytiri laid between Tsu’tey and him. That night he watched Tsu’tey’s body carefully as he usually did during the other nights. That night he couldn’t shake the warmth in his chest.
Happiness is simple.
At some point, Jake turned onto his back. His eyes trailing up to the sky. Stars. There were always stars here. And every night, Jake counted them until he fell asleep. Every night he had one arm around Neytiri. Every night he reached his hand out just enough until his fingers brushed against Tsu’tey’s bicep. Every night he would be the last out of the three of them—or four if he counted the heavy sleeper that was his son—to fall asleep.
Only this time there was a moving star in the sky. For a moment, Jake thought he was dreaming.
But the star kept moving. Closer and closer toward Pandora. Until Jake knew that it wasn’t a star anymore.
A body shifted, Jake instantly got up and placed gentle hands on Tsu’tey’s shaking body, trying his best to calm his mate down from the nightmares. Not knowing what he would do if he had to tell him—to tell Neytiri—that they were about to wake up in one.
It had been a good day.
Until it wasn’t.
Do you think I’ll like Pandora? I still dream about it. Being there with you. Do you still want me to come one day?
You woke up on a ship.
“Hold her down boys.”
At the moment, you hadn’t realized your body jerked roughly or that you were now being held down in your seat by a bunch of hands, far stronger and firmer than you. Never mind the tight seatbelt across your lap, no, they wanted to make sure you couldn’t escape.
So, you screamed. A horror-filled cry that sucked in all sound in the ship. Leaving the rest of the passengers with nothing but silence and your scream.
“Calm down, Doc.” The woman sat across from you spoke. The very same woman that approached you in your mother’s forest. “We wouldn’t want you harming yourself before we even get to the planet.”
With as much strength as you could muster, you tried pulling away from the two men sitting on either side of you, whose grips were practically steel. “What did you do?! Where the hell am I?!”
“I already told you five years ago, it wasn’t a request.”
You didn’t need to ask what she meant by five years. Your mother had told you about the process that got her to Pandora in one of her video diaries. You didn’t have to figure it out in your hazy state without getting pissed.
“You stole five years off me! What the fuck is wrong with you people!?” You seethed.
The woman looked unconcerned toward your outburst. “Your mother’s work is too important to give up, Doc. She and her group of scientists were close to probably giving us the one edge we needed against the Na’vi. The inhabitants of Pandora. With your mother gone along with the rest of her group, we were desperate for a replacement. Which is why we needed you. Which is why we wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
“Why the hell would I help you?!” You snapped, still fighting against the two male’s hold on you. “Get off me!”
“Boys.” The woman gestured for them to let go. After a pause, the hands were gone from your arms. And that was when you began to notice your surroundings.
Yes, you were on some type of ship with a few other soldiers. All of you strapped down to seats. And instead of your ash-covered clothes, you were now in a simple grey tank top, borrowed camouflage pants, and black combat shoes.
Slight groans and whines along the walls told you that the ship was still flying.
So you couldn’t escape even if you wanted to. You had been practically kidnapped by the military—the RDA.
And you were trapped.
That is, until you reach Pandora.
“Now if you’re done throwing a fit,” The woman brought out a tablet and held it toward you. “I’m Captain DeVoe, by the way. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Doc.”
You didn’t take the tablet.
Captain DeVoe sighed before pulling the tablet away and began typing on the screen. “Your mother had been close to finding a way to create an antidote for the neurotoxin those savages use on the tip of their arrows. It’s dangerous for us humans. And our goal is to get this small obstacle out of the way in order to proceed with our mission.”
You let out a short laugh, your body still tense and trapped. “Like I said. Why the hell would I help you? What my mother does has nothing to do with me.”
“Oh, but it does, honey,” DeVoe smirked while you scowled. The captain had to have been in her mid to late twenties. Her hair was cut short into a blonde buzzcut. Toned muscles underneath her long-sleeved shirt. She looked like she could break you in two without even breaking a sweat. So there was no point in trying to fight her. At least not in this confined space.
She held out the tablet to you. And again, you didn’t reach for it. Instead, you pressed your back against the wall behind you. DeVoe didn’t lower the tablet. From your spot, you could see on the screen a light blue rectangle and a digital lock above it.
“She’s kept everything we need behind a lock. Her last words were for you to unlock it and finish her work.”
You raised a brow and crossed your arms, “Those were her last words?” Another brittle laugh left your lips. “Wow, you all must be very desperate.” You continued to laugh, unafraid of the glare the captain sent you. “Fuck you. Fuck everyone on the ship and fuck the RDA! I haven’t even gotten to see her body yet—did you even bury her? Or did you toss her aside when you didn’t find any use for her anymore?”
DeVoe blinked and frowned. She then sighed, “I am sorry for your loss, Dr. Reeds. Really, I am. And I know emotions are quite high right now—”
“Fuck you.” You snorted humorlessly before leaning back against the wall again. The two men on either side of you shifted. You ignored them.
“Yes, you’ve said that already.” DeVoe tucked the tablet down next to her right thigh. You glanced at it briefly before directing your scowl back to the woman.
A speaker suddenly came to life above all of you. “We’ve entered the atmosphere. Landing in twenty.”
You sat up straighter as everyone suddenly began placing what looked like advanced oxygen masks on their faces.
Through all your righteous anger, you hadn’t truly realized it until right then. You were on Pandora. You were going to land in the place of your dreams.
And you refused to be happy about it.
DeVoe handed you a mask as she grabbed bags from under her seat. “Quaritch was always good at being persuasive. He’ll convince you. He always—"
A loud boom rattled your ears.
The ship suddenly flipped—if not for the seatbelts, you would’ve flipped too—and then it felt as if you were falling.
Falling.
Falling.
Falling.
Falling.
You put on the mask in hopes of helping bring the air back into your lungs.
Falling.
Falling.
Thud!
Do you remember your second-in-command? JJ? Well, he retired recently. We threw him a really big party. Plus, he just had a baby too. I think it’s a girl last I checked, I’m going to have to ask Cheryl about that—you know her. Always being in the know with her coworkers…
There was no light. Heat closed in all around you, suffocating you and fogging your mask—or was that your quick breaths? No, that was the smoke.
Your ears rang terribly. People were moving but you couldn’t see who. Someone suddenly grabbed your arm, cut the seatbelt from your lap, and practically hauled your body from the seats and through the smoke.
You weren’t walking. A striking pain in your thigh prevented you from doing so.
Suddenly there was light. Lots of it. Your vision was somewhat clear enough to see that you were now outside. Enough for you to see that the one dragging you was a feral-looking DeVoe.
“Shoot them all down now!” She screamed. There was a long gash along her toned arm. “Contact base! We need backup ASAP!”
Finally, you realized what was happening.
There was fire—why was there always fire?
The large, winged creatures flew above the damage with people riding them. There were yips and hollers from the people on the creatures mixed with the explosions and shouts from DeVoe.
As your senses began coming back, as the world began to set around you, your instincts finally kicked in.
While DeVoe was distracted giving orders, you searched the ground until your eyes landed on a nearby rock. Quickly, you lunged for it, grasped it, and smacked it in the back of her head without wasting another second.
And the impact was hard too. You were sure you heard a loud crack from it.
When DeVoe ducked and stumbled, her grip on you loosened, giving you the chance to run. Or rather, limp through the wreckage and away from the fight happening around you.
But because of your leg, you didn’t make it too far.
A sudden weight knocked you down, a cry leaving your lips as you hit the ground. Wincing in pain from the burning in your left leg. When you tried getting up, the weight kept you pinned down. Whatever landed on top of you made sure you wouldn’t be able to move.
“I already told you!” Roughly, you were turned onto your back. DeVoe was on top of you, snarling. “You have no choice! Not when it comes to saving your race!”
“Get off me!” You cried out, trying to push her off. But DeVoe remained as firm as iron.
“That was a cute little stun you pulled back there. But make sure to remember this.” Instantly, she yanked your mask off.
Your eyes were wide and a loud gasp left your lips,
DeVoe grinned, a mad glint in her eye. “Your life is in my hands! That means I protect it or take it just like that! Don’t be stupid, Doc. Don’t make this more difficult than it has to be. Pick! I protect you or you die!”
You held your breath. More booms sounded around you. More winged creatures flew above you. More yips. More hollers.
Briefly, you glanced at the mask in her hand and considered everything leading up to now. Because you didn’t have much of a choice.
None but one.
Finally, you stopped fighting. Your limbs fell loose against her.
DeVoe nodded with a smirk, “Good choice.” She gave you back your mask and stood up. You kept holding your breath. “Back up should be here soon. We’ll have enough numbers to take down these savages—”
She abruptly cut herself off when you slammed the mask down on your good knee, shattering it.
You then started breathing in the air.
“What are you doing?!” DeVoe screeched, grabbing you by the front of your shirt.
You grinned now, struggling to breathe, “You need me. I don’t need you.”
To them, you were valuable. DeVoe knew this. Which was why you knew she wouldn’t go through with killing you herself. It was like they said on the ship. You were too valuable. And they were desperate.
And that value would be lost once you’re dead.
“Damn you brat!” DeVoe growled as she took off her mask. “Selfish bitch—”
Blood splattered across your face when an arrow found its way through DeVoe’s head.
She slumped against you, the mask falling from her hand and skittering onto the ground a few feet away from you.
Your mind had not realized that DeVoe was killed. Was dead now. All you cared about now was grabbing the mask.
So once you got the dead weight off of you, you began crawling toward the mask. Your breathing becoming a struggle with every passing second.
You hadn’t realized—just like with DeVoe—that someone was watching you. Curiously and quietly following you as you crawled. You didn’t realize you weren’t alone until blue feet appeared in your line of vision. Until four fingers took the mask off the ground and away from your grasp.
A whimper left your lips through hollow breaths as you looked up to find a tall, blue alien woman standing over you. With guarded, yet silently curious yellow eyes.
A Na’vi. You had seen them in your mother’s videos. You had seen her avatar.
“Mom.” You rasped, lying on your back. You didn’t know how much time you had. Might as well stick to the original plan then.
Become invaluable.
But Mom…
“I-I just want my Mom.”
The Na’vi woman just stared at you. Her fierce gaze turned into something somewhat contemplative. You weren’t even sure if she understood you.
Black spots covered your vision.
There was barely any oxygen left to grasp for.
“Demon.”
The Na’vi woman hissed just as you lost consciousness.
This had to be the second time you’ve woken up from passing out.
Only instead of a ship greeting you, it was a white ceiling. And somehow instead of lying dead in the ship wreckage, you were instead lying on a cot. With a bandage wrapped around your injured thigh.
It was slow—slower than before—but everything came back to you. You were on Pandora. DeVoe was dead. At least that’s what you remembered happening. The arrow through her head certainly wasn’t a hallucination.
But why weren’t you dead?
For a while, you just say on the cot. Trying to figure out what exactly happened.
The Na’vi woman. Did she…Did she give you the mask?
No. She’d have no reason to. Something must’ve happened while you were passed out.
You were in some type of cell—perfect—no bars but no doubt some type of impenetrable glass in front of you.
A groan left your lips, dropping your head into your hands.
How the hell did it get so much worse?
A door opened further away from your cell. A thin-looking man stepped through it. A human man.
You watched him carefully and silently. The human male nodded to you. “You must be Dr. Reeds.”
Instantly, you tensed and the words tumbled out of your mouth, “I already told DeVoe I’m not helping the RDA. So torture me all you want but you’re not getting shit from me.”
He raised his brows both curiously and observantly. “The RDA hasn’t been allowed back on Pandora for a year now. Not after the war.”
War? You carefully stood from your cot, “Then why am I here?”
“Because you were on an RDA ship—” You move to protest, “Before you say anything or curse me, I already know about Joan Reeds and your supposed arrival. But unfortunately, you arrived at a pretty bad time. The People are skittish. They think it’s best to keep you here for now—”
“What the fuck?!” You screamed. The resolve was broken. There was no composing anything anymore. Your face was heated. Your muscles ached. Your throat hurting. “I didn’t even want to come here! Those fuckers kidnapped me and now I have to be imprisoned in a cell because of them?! I’m not RDA! I have nothing to do with this! All I want to do is see my mother who I couldn’t even bury!”
Toward the end of your rageful sentence, your voice quivered.
“Is she even buried yet?” You asked him, your voice now quieter.
After a pause, the male nodded. “She was buried. She…She was one of the few humans the Na’vi got along with. They gave her a burial years before. She—I’m sorry for your loss.
Everything was so—heavy. You were just exhausted.
You hadn’t even been able to grieve for her. Cry for her.
“I didn’t even know she was dead.” You sunk back down on the cot. “Not for four years. I didn’t she was dead for four fucking years. And now I’m here. On a planet I’ve been dreaming about since I was young. But now it’s just some fucked up nightmare.”
There was a long silence between the both of you. The male rubbed the back of his neck before saying cautiously, “Yeah, this isn’t ideal—um, I’m Norm, by the way. Norm Spellman. I work in the Avatar Program. I—well, I didn’t know or meet your mother personally but she was an amazing and intelligent scientist. Her work here and on Earth is very admirable.”
You almost scoffed at that but said nothing.
Norm moved to say more but stopped instantly, pressing a hand to his ear. For a beat, you watched him bleakly, as if he were listening to something.
He then turned to you, “Hold that thought.” And as soon as you blinked, he was gone out of the room.
For a moment, it was silent.
And then you cried.
And cried.
And cried.
And cried.
And cried.
Until your eyes offered no more tears left to give.
Do you remember your second-in-command? JJ? Well, he retired recently. We threw him a really big party. Plus, he just had a baby too. I think it’s a girl last I checked, I’m going to have to ask Cheryl about that—you know her. Always being in the know with her coworkers.
I had to clean up cow shit yesterday. And I’m definitely smiling when I tell you this. It’s progress but you probably get to see and interact with creatures we don’t even have here. So, at least you’re up there…
Norm came back a little later after that. He approached your cell, typing something against the wall. A second later, the glass came down.
You straightened.
“They want to talk to you.” He said.
“Who?” You frowned tiredly as you slowly got to your feet, wincing at your thigh.
Norm thought for a bit, “Some representatives of the clan nearby.”
Reluctantly, you followed Norm out of the cell. He led you through a hallway until you approached a door where Norm grabbed a mask for himself and you.
“They’re right out there.”
When you walked out the door, you were startled to find three winged creatures and tall—really tall—Na’vi waiting at the landing strip where you were sure ships would’ve been. But instead, it looked a bit abandoned.
“Dr. Reeds this is the chief of the Omatikaya Clan, Tsu’tey, that’s Neytiri, and the last one is the clan’s Toruk Makto, Jake Sully.”
You analyzed all three of them. The Na’vi woman—Neytiri—you recognized from the crash. The one that had been standing over you before you passed out. Long braids, warrior paint on her face—matching her body posture she instantly took as soon as you came out of the building, and a bow clutched in one hand with a fierce expression. She was sizing you up. Same as you did.
The next one—Tsu’tey—watched your movements carefully. Out of the three he looked like the one in charge, a leader, someone that of importance. His snarl was severe, even making Norm shift uncomfortably despite it not being directed at him. He gripped a spear tightly in his hands, his eyes following every slight movement you made. As if readying himself to take you down the moment you step out of line. Dangerous beast.
Then there was Jake Sully. If you hadn’t learned his name, you could instantly tell that he stood out somewhat among the three. Compared to Neytiri and Tsu’tey, Jake’s stance was different. More human-like. Like a Marine—which you had been around back on Earth. They were mostly the ones hired as military protection, so you were around them often. Jake was exactly that. But it didn’t make him any less fierce or severe.
Then of course there was the gun that he held—another huge thing that stood out among the three of them.
“And this is Dr. Reeds. She was supposed to replace the late Dr. Joan Reeds, a friend of Grace—”
“Why is she here now?” The leader, Tsu’tey interrupted with a scowl. “We need no more demons here.”
You chewed the inside of your cheek but didn’t say anything. Norm, fortunately, continued talking so you didn’t have to. “The timing’s off, I know, but it’s on record that she was supposed to arrive here upon Dr. Reeds' last request. And confirmed by Dr. Augustine herself. She’s only a scientist, that’s all. We even have an unused avatar waiting for her.”
Tsu’tey didn’t look convinced, not surprising. Neytiri’s eyes never wavered from you. Jake’s tail swished behind him, but his expression was unreadable.
Norm cleared his throat, “If Grace approved of it—”
“Where’s my mother buried?” You asked. All four eyes snapped to you. Norm gave you a look that you ignored. “Spellman told me she had a burial here. I just want to see her. That’s all.”
“And then what?” Jake questioned, eyes narrowed. His face was still guarded.
You didn’t care for it. “I don’t know. Maybe then I’ll go back to Earth and die with the rest of the planet. Does that suffice?”
Tsu’tey frowned, clearly not liking your response while Jake lowered the gun slightly. Neytiri slowly eased out of her defensive stance.
Norm chuckled nervously—attempting to save your sardonic response, “You hear that? She said she’ll leave.”
You breathed out a sigh. God, you were so tired. “I just want my Mom. Please, that’s all I ask.”
Another beat went by before Jake, spoke first but in another language. Tsu’tey didn’t look happy at whatever Jake was saying, his ears were pinned to the sides of his head. Neytiri, on the other hand, looked contemplative.
Eventually, Jake turned back to you with a stern frown, “We’ll have a few warriors take you to your mother’s burial.”
“And after you do not return.” Tsu’tey hissed, his violent eyes pinning you in place. If I see you on my grounds again, I will kill you, demon.”
Jake breathed out through his nose, closing his eyes. He then looked at you, “Understood?”
You huffed, “Loud and clear.”
You’re far away from this mess and I think that’s good. Not that there is a mess, I’m just saying metaphorically….You know what never mind. I hope you’re having fun, Mom.
Please respond. I miss your videos. And it’s getting pretty lonely down here.
I still want you to have fun so don’t put too much energy into trying to respond.
I’ll leave you now.
Love,
your little shadow.
PS.
Remember how you said I accomplish more stuff than you could ever imagine? I kind of get the feeling you were only saying that to make me feel better. It’s pretty clear by now that out of the two of us, you’re gonna go far. Farther than I can reach.
Okay, bye now.
yes, another series! this time i'm going full force with the poly than i do with my other fics. and you guys have this beautiful fanart to thank!
also i listened to you're gonna go far by noah kahan the whole time i wrote this chapter so it's probably obvious i was inspired by that song. anyway, i hope you guys enjoy this new mini series of mine for anyone that's still out there in the fandom lol. i hope you guys will give this a chance--and tell me your thoughts when you're done! i love hearing from y'all. full rants and everything!
nima lets out a small giggle as she proceeds to poke and prod at jake’s cheeks.
“gwandpa, you wook siwwy.”
“oh yeah, sweetheart? i look silly?” jake laughs, continuing to pucker his lips towards her.
nima squeals as she uses both index fingers to poke at jake’s cheeks now.
“again, again!” she yells, giggling mischievously.
“all right, nima.” jake chuckles, as he begins to pucker his lips once more, peppering her face with tiny kisses.
nima lets out a loud squeal, throwing her head back in laughter as she allows jake to kiss her.
“gwandpaaaa!” she says, smushing his cheeks together with her tiny hands.
“all right, c’mon babygirl. your mom and dad are gonna be angry with me if we don’t settle down for a nap, okay? can you do that for grandpa?” jake asks, giving her a stern look, but a small smirk forms in the corner of his mouth.
nima lets out a tiny huff, resting her cheek against jake’s collarbone as her small arms wrap around his neck. “otay, gwandpa. stowy then nap.”
jake chuckles at his granddaughters stubbornness, but he can never say no to her.
“all right, princess. one quick story, and then nap time. got it?”
nima nods, rubbing her cheek against jake’s collarbone as he carries her over to her sleeping mat.
WARNINGS: MINORS DO NOT INTERACT. SMUT at the end, bit of angst, fluff, adult situations. Cheating, divorce.
Requested here
Summary: Miguel can't stand watching you being neglected by your husband.
------
If there was something Miguel hated, was life being too generous upon those that didn't deserve it, not even the slightest. Meaning, a dickhead for a coworker and sadly, your husband.
How could such a guy like him ended up with a sweetheart like you was beyond him, The man was apathetic, little to no charm, rude and an absolute bastard.
"She's uh, my wife." He had said flatly. Your name felt like sandpaper on his tongue as it rolled out of it while introducing you to the rest at a small party at Alchemax.
Miguel had noticed the little stab of hurt crossing your angelic face. He wanted to punch him straight in the face, even some of the other couples had noticed the small tension. But you just stood there, trying to give your best smile. The golden band around your finger and the loving stare your eyes casted on your husband was a clear 'Don't even try it' for him.
But for once, Miguel didn't care.
----
He didn't exactly know how the crush on you had started. At first he thought that was just him feeling lonely and that his eyes wandered too much. But when you visited, lunch bag in hand, looking for your husband only to give him a bedazzling smile upon seeing him, and he receiving you with a tight-lipped smile, made his heart to break a little more.
"Hey" You were about to kiss him but he just backed away.
"I'm working."
"Alright, alright. See you later?"
He just gave a quick nod and put the lunchbox on his desk. There wasn't love in his goodbye kiss, Miguel noted. Once you were out, he rummaged through its contents while rolling his eyes.
He looked around and spotted Miguel with a mug on his hand.
"Hey, pal." He called and offered him.
"Want some?" Miguel seized him from head to toes but just nodded. It felt the only way that he could have a bit of you at the moment.
"Take whatever you like. Wife always goes overboard with food." Miguel took the small dessert container. It tasted divine. It only matched your own sweetness.
Lucky Bastard.
Oh he was. His eyebrows pressed together as he kept giving away all the food you had so dotingly prepared him.
----
"Can we talk about this later? You can't just keep visiting me every time you feel so"
"But you keep forgetting lunch at home, can't leave you like-"
"It's fine really, we have vending machines here." Your husband grumbled, but you couldn't help but hold the lunchbox tightly against your arms.
"I see. Sorry." You gave him a small smile, "See you later?"
"Im busy today. Might get a couple hours late. Don't wait for me."
You just nodded as Miguel jaw tensed.
How dared he?
You left.
-----
You had bumped into him at the supermarket on a weekend. Your cart was full of food, food that would end up in his hands and the rest of the team but never in your husband's mouth.
"Miguel, right?"
He nodded as he pulled some items for himself in his basket.
"Thanks for helping me." you smiled, his heart thumped harder.
"Where is..." He cleared his throat and you looked up at him.
"My husband? Oh, he said he had an extra shift today. Working in Alchemax surely is hard, I mean, I try to make it less... bad for him."
Miguel's mind was sneering, not at you but at the fake pretense of a hard working man the son of a bitch had put up with you. He knew the truth, he knew your husband only went there, did things wrong and half assed, and lately he had been flirting shamelessly with a lab technician from the upper floor.
His hatred for the man only grew, just as his admiration for you. What truly made you marry someone like him? That's the biggest question he had so far.
"I'm kind of nervous, today's our anniversary. I wanna surprise him with something" Your cheeks tinted red.
God you were killing him. He wanted to grab you gently by your shoulders, and say 'I can be better' cause of course he could, he was. You'd never have to settle for less with him.
'I appreciate you' cause he did, unlike the fool you had married. 'You'd never have to beg me' because in truth, he was already at your feet.
But you weren't his. Not yet.
-----
Sighing, Miguel put the lab test equipment away, then headed for the main office to get a couple more samples of a liquid he tried, but stopped dead in his tracks at the sight.
Legs wrapped around a man's waist, as his pants were down at his ankles. The woman shrieked once she noticed Miguel standing there with a frown and disgusted face. Miguel’s anger froze when the man next to her turned to be none but your husband.
The man recoiled to himself upon Miguel glaring holes his way.
----
His shoulder was poked by none other that the cheating pig.
"Uh, hey. Can we.... Can you, I mean-"
He stumbled on his words, Miguel towered over him, his eyes belittling him. He was bold.
"You saw nothing, yeah?"
And oh so phony. Disgusting.
Miguel just went back to his work.
It was the last straw.
-------
To his surprise you were sitting on a café, puffy and tear crusted eyes staring into nothingness, a phone on your hands. You knew.
He didn't know whether to approach you, or just leave you be. As much as he wanted you, he knew that coming at you in your most vulnerable state would not only make a bad impression oh him, but he didn't want to act like a vulture, looming over your broken heart for him to take.
He approached carefully.
"Hey"
"Miguel..."
"Are you okay?"
Your eyes avoided him.
"May I sit?"
You nodded with a hiccup and he offered you his handkerchief, fresh hot tears spilled in the soft fabric. His chest constricting at the sight.
"He cheated on me."
Much to your dismay, he knew. Of course, he wanted to tell you, but knowing how careless your husband acted, it was a matter of time for you to discover the cheating.
"I'm really sorry to hear that."
Shaking your head, you sniffed
"He has been doing this for months. Should've... saw this coming. I mean... I found so many pictures of a woman and... God"
He was pretty sure that he would punch the man next time he'd see him.
"He never came home to our anniversary, but even way before that. He just... I wasn't enough."
He frowned and took your hand softly.
"Stop. Cheating is a personal choice, guapa. You can't blame yourself for other's choices. He decided to do so, to trash away his marriage. It has nothing to do with you."
"Maybe if... I was-"
"No. You're... you're perfect. Puta madre, you're more than perfect. He's a lucky bastard just to have you. And... If I was him-"
He stopped his words and pursed his lips. You didn't need this. He'd have to be patient. You stared at him gently.
"I'll file for a divorce. He's barely coming home anyways and... that pretty much says on it's own that is over."
Miguel just nodded.
"Might celebrate it." You chuckled after wiping your tears.
"Can I ask you something?"
Again, you nodded.
"I know it's none of my business but, I'm just genuinely curious as to why you'd marry him?"
"Impulsiveness, I guess." you shrugged, your hand resting some inches away from his.
"He just proposed one day out of the blue, we had been dating for six months. Don't... don't look at me like that. I know it was stupid." you groaned.
"It's alright. You thought it was love." His hand inched closer, you nodded.
"We had our problems. A lot, actually. But... instead of speaking things like a fucking adult, he went on cheating."
"Mira, guapa... yo" He trailed off unsure of resisting any longer, his resolution to wait vanishing, "I know that this is a really bad time for you and-"
"Please... don't. Miguel I-"
"Just listen, ok? Please?" His hand finally took yours gently.
"I know this is the least of things you need right now, but... You have no idea how... how perfect you are. I always saw you visiting him, being loving, and he just threw all that away. He lost you. You're way too much for him."
Your body tensed upon sensing where this was going. Of course you weren't ignorant, you'd notice the glances he would give your way, the yearning in his eyes every time you kissed or acted like lovesick fool with your glacial husband.
" Let me show you, how would I treat you, if you were mine."
"Miguel, I don't want to-."
"Let me take you to dinner. If you don't like anything and I mean it, anything, I'll stop and leave you be. Just a dinner. Hell, you could ramble about him for hours and I'd just be happy for you to be there."
You sighed, it was a rather simple choice to say yes or no. There was nothing that actually tied you to your ex husband now. Just a very skewed moral code.
" Just a dinner. "
His heart fluttered and he nodded
"Just a dinner and I'll drop you home."
----
Miguel helped you out of his car, eyes drinking in your form. He would be lying if he said that he didn't feel jealous of the dress you were wearing, snugging all your curves in the right spots, just a tiny thing to make your own beauty to stand out even more. Gorgeous, flawless, divine and perfect.
You gasped at the location
"Are you sure this is the place? It's quite expensive."
Your concern was endearing, he offered you his arm and guided you inside.
"You're worth it, princesa."
The place seemed like being inspired from an old movie, elegant, classic and of course fancy. Never in your life your ex husband would actually treat you to places like these. His card would explode, he said once. Other places were good, but this was in a whole new level of luxury.
Miguel held the chair for you, and you sat, he followed.
"This place is gorgeous." He chuckled and took your hand to kiss your soft knuckles.
"Just like you."
----
Time flew, the night had been to your surprise one of the best things that you have experienced. You had tasted things that didn't know existed, Miguel had fed you the dessert, pampering you to no end. The wine was delicious.
As night advanced, his little touches had turned more and more risqué, his fingers would take a taste of your exposed thigh skin, your hands would brush his, fiery and small caresses that sparked a silent yet mutual fire.
Once home you couldn't get your hands out of eachother. He had to be careful to not rip your dress to bits, he needed you. The wet kisses in your neck and his wandering hands all over your heated body the proof of it. When was the last time that someone touched you like this?
Not even him, the man that oathed to love you and be with you through thick and thin. A gentle rub on your clit by expert fingers made you forget about him. Lock his memory in a vault and you'd throw the key somewhere. Your hips would buck against his hand, rolling on waves after waves of pleasure.
"He didn't touch you?" You shook your head as your mouth gaped open.
"When was-"
"Shut up." you moaned breathlessly. An I don't know nor care.
Your body responded so well too him, be the need you tried to sate with your own hands, or the loneliness that had made you so desperate that had you squirming and soaked and he was only using his hands so far. With Miguel, things felt differently. He did things differently. And different was good. So so good.
His hunger for you shown and conveyed in every caress and touch he gave you. He was gentle enough for his desire to permeate your skin. You didn't feel alone. You felt needed. Loved even. There was no turning back once you discarded all the clothes on both ends.
----
Opposite to what you believed, your heart wasn't flooding with guilt. No.
There were no longer what ifs and what not constantly echoing in your brain. There was no longer that constricting sensation in your chest you always had. No more uncertainty. You were free.
Last night Miguel, whose arms cradled your form to be snuggled in his chest and his thigh hooked on your hip, hoarding you. As if fearful you'd go away, had made you experience a whole new concept of pleasure. Your body soared in bliss, you were glowing, He had given you climax after climax, making every single one of them more shattering and intense than the other.
That's all you wanted really. Feel at ease and blissful. Miguel had given you that and more. More than you actually ever though deserving. It was just a matter of time that you'd finally take him whole.
You wanted him. His kindness, his care, his love, his grumpyness during mornings, the way he cursed in spanish whenever he'd stub his toe in the nightstand. You wanted it all.
Of course you had filed for a divorce as soon as you could, your husband was more than happy to comply. He hadn't been home for a while, Miguel even told you that he had quitted. It was as if the universe was removing him from your life ever since you started with Miguel a couple months ago.
But none of that mattered. Not when he had plopped you down to bed, hands holding a firm grip in your sweaty and smooth skin, hips straddling yours and plowing into you from behind, prone bone position. His hips buried himself deep, hitting that spot over and over. He wasn't gentle, but that's just exactly how you liked it.
Before you could actually reach the stars he flipped you over, your thighs resting ontop of his. He sheathed once more inside. Your phone buzzed.
You growled in annoyance, Miguel sighed. A number you knew all too well. Finally you'd get the news you so needed to hear.
"Y-Yeah?" Miguel smirked as he held your thighs together and pushed in further, his tip kissing your cervix so deliciously you had to bite your lip to suppress a moan. The little baby bump in your abdomen barely noticeable.
"Shit's done. Papers are signed."
There was a bit of rustling and the clinking of glass. By his tone, you knew he was getting drunk, celebrating. Miguel took the phone and put it on speaker.
"Ya know? I'm glad I did. Couldn't stand you, nagging all the time. But I'm a free man now, baby." His gulping, something you secretly hated, could be heard on the other line.
Miguel frowned and spreaded your legs once more.
"You there?" Your ex chuckled, "It's okay if you're crying, won't judge"
So so annoying.
A smirk appeared on your face as Miguel focused the camera on your body. He then turned the video call on. The man's face instantly fell upon watching you bouncing on a cock that surely put his to shame. Spine arching, breast jiggling and mouth spewing the lewdest of moans and needy whimpers he hsd ever heard from you. One tan hand secured you in place, preventing you from squirming too much.
"Sorry, pal." He grunted as he started to ram his hips in abandonment, making your toes curl. Your face and body said it all. The video image shaking at his thrust
"Just like that, bonita?" You choked a sob as he went balls in deep, nodding and begging him for him to not stop.
"She's busy." He hung up the call before the man could say anything and tossed your phone somewhere in the bed.
You felt so good, perfect for him, And now you were all his.
Summary: Kayla continues to learn about island life with the Metkayina and also learns a bit more about her teachers along the way. Tonowari and Ronal find their student strange and intriguing.
A/N: I am so sorry for my absence! I wish I have a good excuse for being absent, but the truth is I'm not doing so hot in the real world rn. My job is cutting back hours and I barely have enough for rent. I'm getting a second job next month so hopefully, things smoothen out.
Here is the long-awaited update that I will kick myself for delaying in exchange for obsessively crying over Good Omens Season 2. Let the montage of Awa'atlu life commence! Again, thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy!
Note: The title is named after the Phil Collins song "Strangers Like Me" because Tarzan and Avatar just go together XD
To avoid having Ronal hunt her down again, Kayla got up earlier the next morning and made her way back to the village to join her brother's family for breakfast before her lessons. Kiri was definitely doing better and Tuk was excited that her aunt had decided to see them off before their busy days. After pleasant conversations and the promise to meet before their midday meal, the kids took off to pursue whatever they planned for the day. Kayla stood up with the intention of going to find either the tsahik or the olo'eyktan and so Jake walked her out of the marui as they talked.
"So Neteyam mentioned that you guys talked about what happened between Lo'ak and Ao'nung," Jake started off.
'Oh, boy, here we go,' Kayla thought as she tilted her head to glance back at him, feigning partial innocence, "Yes? What about it?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to let you know that it's already been handled, and it sounds like the boys are actually getting along now. Neteyam also mentioned that you didn't get to meet Ao'nung yesterday so I wanted to make sure you knew this before you went looking for a fight with the kid."
"Jake, how young do you think I am?" When his face twisted with hesitance, she rolled her eyes, "Don't answer that. What I'm trying to say is that I'm not a child, I'm older than I look, and believe it or not, I do realize this. You don't have to worry about me... but you could've been a little nicer to Lo'ak."
Jake refrained from also rolling his eyes, knowing his sister would say this. He wasn't blind. He was well aware that Kayla would always be quick to defend his youngest son, no matter what he did. Jake was half-convinced that Lo'ak could get away with murder as far as his aunt was concerned, "He knew he wasn't allowed to go beyond the reef but he went anyway. He was at fault as much as Ao'nung."
"I get that, but it feels as though Lo'ak received more punishment than the boys who actually put him in danger, and for what?"
"For picking fights."
"No, for defending his sister," her eyes narrowed, "Not that you would know what that means."
Jake took the verbal lashing in stride, internally sighing, "I can't punish the chief's son for what he does against my kids, Kayla."
At first, Kayla had every intention of cursing her brother out, but instead paused and tried rephrasing her response. Her eyes drifted to the reef while she recalled far-off memories, "I remember Mom and Dad were allowed to punish the neighbor kids if they misbehaved with us and no one would bat an eye."
The mention of his old life irked him, and he wasn't afraid to show that in his deep snarl, "Well, Mom and Dad aren't here and we're not on Earth," her posture visibly stiffens but doesn't interrupt. Jake's wave of anger is immediately replaced with guilt, so he opts in taking a breath before he could say anything else he might come to regret, "Things are different here. So be civil and keep the peace. Don't go picking fights with teenagers."
"I won't," she mutters darkly, the coldness in her eyes returning as she side-eyes him, reminding Jake that he still wasn't out of the storm regarding her, "That's what you're here for."
She doesn't stay long enough to hear whatever rebuttal he might have in mind. Instead, she walks down the pathways leading further into the village before calling back, "I'll see you later."
Tail lowered in distress and possibly shame, Jake could only turn back to the marui and try to go about his day as he normally would. He knew he deserved the petty insults and his sister's aggression toward him, especially after all the radio silence she had endured for months while he was here experiencing a new way of life, on top of everything else. He just wished Kayla could manage to let go of all the pain and anger like he did when he first began to learn the ways of the Omatikaya. Physically, Kayla's avatar hasn't changed apart from the new Na'vi trinkets she had added to her standard-issued cargo shorts and crop top. However, Jake had hoped her mentality toward him would change the more she learned how to be Na'vi.
He knew he was a fool to get his hopes up so soon.
Walking through the village, Kayla went down the same route Ronal had brought her yesterday, hoping she would catch sight of the tsahik. Again, there were some stares from the Metkayina, but they didn't last as long as the day before and the reef people didn't look as bothered by her appearance. The Na'vi go about their day without much acknowledgment to Kayla, and before she knew it, she had made it to her destination, the craft huts she had met Tsireya just the other day.
It wasn't hard to find Ronal among the crowd of mottled skin patterns. Her accessories, tattoos, and rounded stomach are a dead giveaway, and the tsahik easily found Kayla in the crowd in turn, though it wasn't as hard, given the circumstances. Ronal's eyes visibly squint when her gaze lands on Kayla, then the Na'vi woman pulls away from her task to rise and meet the avatar. Another Na'vi stands to join her, a teenage boy and Kayla had an inkling who it was.
When Ronal approached Kayla, she motioned to the boy behind her, "My son, Ao'nung."
Smiling timidly, Kayla greets Ao'nung as respectfully as possible, though even she could admit her smile was tighter than usual. Ao'nung didn't say a word back, instead deciding to simply nod and avoid eye contact. His ears drooped and his head lowered like this was torture for him. Clearly, he was being coerced into being here with Kayla, but she decided not to fault him for it. Perhaps he's already being punished enough for his wrongdoings that he didn't need Kayla to torture him further about it.
Ronal doesn't appear to notice nor care for Ao'nung's discomfort and sternly stated to Kayla, "We will be teaching you how to communicate underwater. Do not fall behind or you will be left behind."
Kayla refrains from the small smile that threatened to escape her. Ronal's words vaguely reminded her of Neytiri's way of teaching Jake both from the stories she heard and the video log Jake had recorded. As Jake had once phrased it, 'Learn fast or die.'
With that in mind, Kayla doesn't complain and silently follows Ronal and Ao'nung away from the craft huts and further down the pathways. It didn't take long before they brought their guest to a large marui. It wasn't as big as the communal pod for the feasts, but it was significantly taller and wider than the normal ones Kayla has seen, including the Sullys' marui. She took note of the different colors of weaving and decorations adorning the home, such as the totem and skimwing skull hanging over the front entrance in greeting, a small windchime of shells softly dancing in the warm breeze. If Kayla had to guess, this was the olo'eyktan and tsahik's pod. Soon after stepping inside, both Ronal and Ao'nung lower to the ground, sitting back on their legs and Kayla does the same, proceeding to listen as Ronal starts off the lesson.
Nothing eventful happened as Kayla learned the Metkayina equivalent of sign language. Ao'nung never said a word regarding Lo'ak or any incident that happened with Kayla's nieces and nephews prior to her arrival. In fact, Ao'nung didn't say a whole lot other than chiming in a time or two to help Kayla with the lesson. Perhaps he never said a word outside of the subject of his people's sign language because his mother had been giving him sharp looks throughout the whole lesson. It was hard to miss. Ronal wasn't exactly a subtle creature. She openly expressed whatever she was feeling, unafraid of hurting someone's feelings, not even her son's, it would seem.
It was amusing to find all the similarities between the mother and son, both physically and spiritually. Their glare, eyes, and even their pout were the same. Kayla even dared herself to look a little closer without getting caught and noticed that Ao'nung inherited the same mole as his mother's, both spots found above their lip, on the top right side.
She must have lost track in time as the suns rose higher in the sky. Before she knew it, her next teacher had shown up to take her to her next destination. Tonowari stepped up into the marui, his large frame blocking the majority of the light coming in through the entryway. His gaze brushes over Kayla and Ao'nung before his eyes land on the tsahik, "Ma Ronal. Is this a good time?"
One of Kayla's ear flick to the side at the term of endearment, glancing over to the woman in question who only firmly nods and stares back at Kayla, "Go on. My mate will continue your riding lessons from yesterday."
Kayla mutters her thanks and stands up to join Tonowari. As they turn toward the exit, the olo'eyktan points back to his son, "Ao'nung. Remain with your mother."
"But, Father--"
"Do not question me, boy," the tone in Tonowari's voice was a little louder and stronger than normal, and even Kayla could feel her spine straightening up, despite not being under his scrutiny. Kayla briefly glances back at Ao'nung and notes the way he shrinks in on himself, still unable to look her in the eye, clearly embarrassed. Kayla looks away and follows Tonowari out of the marui, shadowing his footsteps as he addresses her, "I apologize for my son."
For the moment, Kayla had the empathy to pity the teenager and decided to soften the blow against Ao'nung, "There's nothing to apologize for. He was a pleasant enough teacher."
His voice had reverted back to its normal tone, significantly smoother and kinder on the ears, "Did you learn well?"
"I think so. It's not that different compared to what the Sky People have," when he flashed a questioning glance over his shoulder at her, she further explained, "They have a language that requires hand motions, too."
He doesn't question it further, instead looking back ahead and leading Kayla down to the docks. The ilu anxiously await their arrival in the water below, clicking and calling excitedly as Tonowari pulls a harness over one of their heads. The two adults get into the water and stand beside the earnest ilu, Tonowari trying to calm the creature whilst Kayla makes tsaheylu. She mounts the creature with ease, remembering yesterday's lesson and dreading the idea of falling off again as Tonowari begins reassuring her, "You need to exude confidence. Tell the ilu that you will command them and you will be respected by them. Do not give them space to come up with their own ideas."
She takes a few deep breaths to calm her nerves and nodded, waiting until Tonowari steps away before commanding the ilu to move forward using only the bond connecting them to each other's thoughts. The creature obliges and all appears to be going smoothly. Kayla manages to instruct the ilu to swim faster before eventually sinking underneath the water's surface. The ilu picks up speed and even as she clings on for dear life, Kayla could already feel her grip loosening. Angry and determined, Kayla tightens her thighs around the saddle of the creature and demands her bonded steed to leap out of the water and let her breathe, no room for nonsense.
To her shock and delight, the ilu chirped happily and sprung out of the water like a bullet, briefly flying through the air and allowing Kayla to take a breath before diving back in. She was so shocked that she almost lost her grip before regaining composure and asking the ilu to do it again, in case she had only imagined her success. The ilu was ecstatic to leap out of the water again and did so without a fuss, and this time, Kayla laughed as the shock wore off.
On the surface, the woman is met with a small audience. Lo'ak, Neteyam, and Tsireya were out riding their own respective ilu that afternoon before briefly pausing to watch a school of fish swim all around them, tickling their feet. Just as Kayla appeared to finally be getting the hang of riding an ilu, the teenagers caught notice of her as well. Lo'ak is the first to spot her, cupping his hands over his mouth as he crows in encouragement, "Go, Auntie! Woo-hoo! Yeah! You got it!"
Kayla laughs as Neteyam and Tesireya begin to cheer her on as well, their voices carried by the winds as Kayla and her ilu dive into the water and back out again. By the time Kayla remembered herself and returned to her teacher, Tonowari had his arms crossed but otherwise appeared pleased by her improvement, tail leisurely swaying behind him with curiosity.
~~~~~~~~~
Weeks go by since Kayla first arrived in Awa'atlu, and despite having to adapt to yet another completely different culture, Kayla had to admit that it was getting easier as time went on. She originally thought the ways of the Metkayina were a cakewalk compared to the Omatikaya, but maybe it was because she learned from the Forest People first that made learning from the Reef People easier than she originally thought it would.
She makes sure to reiterate this to Norm and the other humans every time she sees them. When everyone in Awa'atlu is meant to be resting, Kayla retreats to her campsite and secures her avatar form before closing her eyes and breaking the neural link. The next time she opens her eyes, it's within the link gurney back at High Camp. Norm and Max are always there to greet her, asking about her headaches and other health problems. There were days even Kayla had to admit were rough. After spending so much time in her avatar form, it's starting to strain the link connecting herself to her human form and it causes massive headaches every time she breaks a new record of not reporting back for days on end. To distract her friends from lecturing her, Kayla just updates everyone on Kiri's condition and relays any messages Jake or the rest of the Sully family wanted her to bring. In return, the scientists or even the Na'vi, such as Txe'la and Meui, would update her on any information regarding Ardmore or any Sky People activity.
She's always left disappointed when they say the same thing. No one has seen Spider.
Trying not to let the news discourage her, Kayla always wakes back up in her avatar form in better spirits so as not to worry Jake and his family. Kayla continues to treat the days as normal, continuing her lessons and helping out in any way she can so as not to overstay her welcome. When she wasn't following Tonowari or Ronal around, Kayla was usually in the company of her nieces, nephews, and their new friends.
Tsireya was one of those friends, and she was such a sweet girl who would happily entertain Kayla in any endeavor. When she wasn't busy, one of Kayla's favorite pastimes was helping Tuk and Tsireya find seashells for their hair and any jewelry idea they had in mind. Tsireya, as Tuk said, knew all the best spots where the shells were always fully intact and not crushed into pieces by the harsh tides. During these little adventures, Kayla, Tuk, and Tsireya would learn more about each other, bonding over the fact that they were all their families' younger sisters.
The sign language was easier than the verbal language, but Kayla felt as though she had a rug pulled from beneath her feet when Ronal knowingly stated that she was going to be teaching her student a third language. The tsahik, with the help of other Metkayina, began to teach Kayla the language of the tulkun, the sea creature Kayla learned to be the spiritual animal and companion to the Reef People, as the ikran is to Forest People. Apparently, not even Kayla's nieces and nephews have progressed as far as learning the tulkun language yet, and they became ecstatic to realize that they would be learning this alongside their aunt. Joining Ronal in these lessons with Kayla and the Sully kids would also be Tsireya and Rotxo, which only excited the forest kids more. Ronal wasn't as pleased with her own student when she caught Kayla fondly watching the children interact more than once.
Kayla had to learn this extra language on top of her breathing lessons, the latter of which was taught by both Tonowari and Ronal. Sometimes they would teach her separately, and other times they would do so together, but whatever the case may be, it didn't matter to Kayla. She would carefully listen to whoever was teaching her, and sometimes she listened so intently that she caught herself observing her teachers a little too closely.
Like Tonowari's eyes for example. Kayla noted they were a light blue at first as she sat cross-legged across from him while they practiced breathing exercises. But upon closer inspection, Kayla noticed specks of green engulfed by those blue orbs, like clumps of islands surrounded by warm sparkling oceans.
He was a clenched fist with a gentle touch. Kayla greatly admired him for being someone who could easily take advantage of his strength and position above his people but chooses to be kind and soft-spoken instead.
It was fascinating for Kayla to see just how different the Metkayinas' eyes were compared to the Omatikayas'. Whereas every Na'vi of the Forest had orange or yellow cat-like eyes, the ones who live off of the reef had rounder and bigger eyes, not to mention they had a variety of different shapes, sizes, and colors.
Like Ronal's eyes. The opposite of her mate's, Kayla noted that Ronal's eyes were more green than blue, with specks of a warm, gold color, like a sunset reflecting off the ocean surface.
She was orphic, but that's as far as Kayla allowed herself to describe the tsahik.
There was plenty to say about Ronal, but Kayla thought it best not to linger on any of the words bouncing around in her head. It was clear to her that the tsahik will always disapprove of Kayla and her presence among the Metkayina, so Kayla didn't want to compliment the Na'vi woman too much, especially since she doesn't intend on staying for very long.
Her stay was still very much temporary, at least in Kayla's eyes, as she still intends on going back to the forest to find Spider. For now, however, she was content with her small campsite just inside the treeline of the Metkayina island, a campsite that Ronal appears to disapprove of along with everything else about Kayla. The tsahik still has to occasionally venture out and find Kayla among the trees if she is in need of the avatar woman, like today when Ronal had the mind to take the time to find Kayla. It wasn't hard since the demon had kept her promise and never moved her campsite so she would be right where Ronal could find her. Still, Kayla was apologetic when Ronal found her and the tsahik begrudgingly told the foreigner to follow her back to the village.
Ronal brings her to the shoreline and recruits her to help fix an ilu pen that had begun to wither with age. Tonowari was already hard at work on it and briefly looked up to greet the two women when they sat down on the edge of the pathway and gracefully slipped into the water with him. After a brief instruction from him, Kayla gets to work in silence, and Ronal isn't opposed to doing the same. The silence wasn't as awkward as they were in the past, but out of the corner of her eye, Kayla could clearly see that something was bothering the tsahik, as Ronal wasn't ashamed of openly frowning while watching Kayla work. She didn't appear to be glaring in disapproval, but she looked... frustrated. It was as if she was trying to figure out a complicated puzzle. Kayla briefly glanced at the Na'vi positioned on the other side of her and noticed that Tonowari was much more subtle than his mate. Unlike Ronal, he only snuck glances at Kayla and her work here and there and did his best to hide whatever expression was on his face.
"Am I doing it wrong?"
"No. You're doing well," a compliment was not what she was expecting and it shows as Kayla's ears perk up and her eyes briefly widen. Ronal pointedly ignores the reaction and blatantly asks, "Why do you not stay with your brother's family at night?"
Kayla looked at Ronal, nose scrunched slightly in confusion, all the while completely unaware of the stare Tonowari sent to his mate from above Kayla's head, "Why would I?"
"Group sleep is also customary in the Metkayina."
"What's a group sleep?"
By Eywa, did the Omatikaya teach this alien woman anything? Ronal huffs out an irritated sigh, "Families sleep in large groups, usually in their swaynivi. Some clan members will sleep alone or with their mate just as long as they return to their family's nivi in a short period of time. Otherwise, they're deemed spiritually unhealthy. It is unsafe for one to sleep alone."
"I see," Kayla's ears pin back and her posture straightens, understanding the question now while pointedly staring down at her work on weaving the ilu pen together instead of addressing Ronal, "Well, where I'm from, that's called an invasion of privacy. I would assume that the families who sleep in large groups mostly contain parents and their children, correct?"
She doesn't wait for a response as she further explains with a small distaste in her mouth, "Since I'm neither of those, I don't want to invade my brother's and his children's privacy. Thank you for your concern, but I've been alone for a very long time. I can assure you that I am just fine with the sleeping arrangements I have now."
Even Ronal can sense a dismissal when she hears it in Kayla's voice. It was clear that the alien woman didn't want to further discuss this topic and so the tsahik didn't push it. Returning to her work, Ronal now briefly shared a glance with Tonowari but he pointedly kept his mouth closed during the whole conversation and after.
Luckily, the silence is saved by Neteyam as the teenager arrives with a purpose, slightly bouncing over the pathways above the adults' heads, "Auntie. My father is looking for you."
Kayla's discomfort visibly melts before Tonowari and Ronal's eyes. She looks up and smiles at the Na'vi boy, "Tell your father he can come and get me himself next time instead of sending you out. You should be elsewhere, enjoying the reefs and hunting with your friends."
She briefly turned back to the clan leaders, silently asking for approval to leave with her eyes flicking between the two Metkayina. Both nodded and openly watch as Kayla turns back to Neteyam, smiling up at her nephew as she rises up onto the pathway and follows him out, gently shoving him once to get him to pick up the pace so she didn't trip on his heels.
Neteyam huffed a small laugh as they walked, but the sound falls in replace of shame. He was visibly acting a little shy as he avoided eye contact, "I am sorry that I told my father about our conversation. I should have asked for your permission."
"Hey, no harm," she nudged him, "It's not like our talks are meant to be a secret or anything. It's nice that you can trust your father with everything; trust him enough to talk about whatever you want. As long as you're comfortable, kiddo."
"Was your father not like that?"
Kayla bit her tongue to refrain from visibly wincing, staring directly ahead instead of at her nephew, "No. I don't think he was. Not from what I can remember. Mostly I relied on Tommy and your dad growing up."
"What was my father like as an older brother? Am I like him?"
Kayla briefly grew quiet as they walked, pondering about how she could best word this to her oldest nephew. She tried seeing Jake in Neteyam, she really did, but whenever she tried comparing the teenager's best traits, they only remind her of Neytiri. And when Kayla thinks about Jake, all the pain and other torture he had put her through both intentionally and by accident, she couldn't even fathom Neteyam doing the same thing to his own siblings. Physically and mentally, deep down she knew that Neteyam was nothing like his father, and she was secretly grateful for that.
So instead of agreeing, Kayla simply smiled while staring the teenager in the eyes so he could see her sincerity, "No, 'Teyam. You're like Tommy. He was the older brother. When it comes to how you treat your siblings, you remind me of him, and I think your father sees it, too."
~~~~~~~~~
When Ronal isn't busy with her duties as tsahik or teaching Kayla, she is making sure Neytiri also adapts to their way of life. Although the former tsakarem had been comfortably accustomed to island life by the time her sister-in-law joined her family, Ronal still takes Neytiri into the jungle for a second pair of hands to gather the needed plants and herbs for her stock. Today was no different as the two women stumbled across a large jungle tree, larger than any of the others around them. Instead of following Ronal's suggestion to skip this tree and its healing fruits in exchange for a shorter one, Neytiri stops and shakes her head. Ronal was adamant about moving on since she was in no condition to climb and wasn't built to climb trees even if she wasn't currently pregnant.
Neytiri still shook her head in defiance and simply said, "You need Forest People."
The Forest woman opens her mouth and calls out at the top of her lungs, causing Ronal's ears to twitch in response to her whooping and cawing. Notifying her family about her location, it didn't take long for Jake, Kayla, and all the Sully children to come running to Neytiri's call.
Neytiri proudly smiles at her family while explaining why they had been summoned, "Our tsahik needs the fruit from the top of this tree and the ones surrounding it."
The others take a moment to look at one another before Kayla breaks the silence, briefly tapping Tuk's shoulder before running off, "'Last one to the top is a rotten egg!"
Tuk squeals and immediately chases after her aunt. The older Sully kids smile and break into fits of laughter, following suit and running after Kayla and their little sister. They all leap up, grabbing onto the lower branches before lifting themselves up, climbing expertly higher without their arms protesting the weight of their bodies. Ronal watched them climb higher and higher, keeping her expression stoic while observing the way Kayla makes the collecting and scavenging into a game for her nieces and nephews, challenging them to see who can gather the most fruit. In the corner of her eye, Ronal could still see Neytiri standing beside her, also watching the trees and smiling fondly up at her family. Jake soon stands beside his wife, hands on his hips while watching his sister and his children with a careful eye.
It was then did Ronal address Toruk Makto directly, flashing a face of disapproval, "Does your sister always act so childish?"
Jake's posture stiffens and he struggles to find the right words under the tsahik's watchful eye, "Well-! Uh..."
"No, only with the children," Neytiri answers for him, eyes hardened when they meet Ronal's as if daring her to speak again, "She plays with them because she wants to remind them that they are still just that. Children."
~~~~~~~~~
Kiri woke up bothered about something and everyone could tell. That girl didn't know how to hide her feelings no matter how badly she wanted to, the definition of an open book. Even though no one knew why she was upset, they could clearly tell that whatever it was, it had something to do with her aunt. Kiri wasn't necessarily cold to Kayla, but the teenager would go quiet and only speak in one-word responses whenever the older woman spoke directly to her.
Kayla decided that she needed to fix whatever was going on between herself and her oldest niece, so she offered to take the children out as the afternoon slipped into the evening. Neytiri suggested bringing them swimming through the reefs to collect barnacles and other underwater plants for tonight's supper, a passing time a lot of the villagers tend to do. Kayla takes up the idea and presents it to the Sully kids, who all agree to go, some more enthusiastic than others.
Tuk immediately splashes into the water and her brothers chase after her. Meanwhile, Kayla and Kiri linger on the beach, watching them disappear into the ocean. Kayla had tried breaking the tension with a small smile, "So when are you gonna show me how to use those underwater fairy wings?"
She was hoping for a small laugh or even a smile, but Kiri does neither. Instead, she looks sad and distracted, looking out over the horizon where the sky meets the sea, daydreaming of other lands... of home. Kayla bravely touches the girl's shoulder, and when Kiri looks up, her aunt could see the concern plain on her face. The avatar woman squeezes Kiri's shoulder, "What is it?"
Kiri bites the inside of her cheek before giving in, letting out a small sigh, "When are you going back to the forest?" She quickly understands how that could easily be misinterpreted and corrects herself, "It's just that-- you promised you'd look for Spider. And yet, you're here and he still hasn't been found yet."
Kayla relaxes both in posture and touch, removing her hand from Kiri's shoulder and instead letting it fall to her side, "I'll likely be gone by the end of the week, but for Norm's peace of mind, I'm going to be running a few tests on you so he and I both know you'll be okay," silence follows and Kayla reaches out once more, letting her hand gently grasp Kiri's arm, "Kiri, look at me."
The teen does so, a little belligerent at first. Upon staring up at her aunt, Kiri could see the determination in her eyes that closely matched Kiri's father's. Kayla tilts her head down to try and stand more at Kiri's height before softly explaining, "I haven't given up. And you might find it pointless to keep an eye on you after what happened, but I don't, and I don't think Spider would either. Think about it, kiddo. Spider would want us to make sure you're alright before we ever went looking for him."
Kiri ducks her head and watches her toe make shapes in the sand beneath her feet, "I know... but that doesn't mean I have to like it. He deserves to be put first for once."
Silence lingers between the two of them before Kayla simply says, "You're right."
Kiri doesn't wanna look up to see whatever expression was on her aunt's face. Instead, Kiri takes her arm and drags her to the water, "Come."
"'Where we going?"
"You said you wanted to learn how to use a txampaysye."
Kayla's nose scrunched up, testing the word on her tongue with bitterness, "How do you even spell that??"
Kiri manages to loosen up and laugh before they both held their breath and sank down into the water, sinking until they joined the rest of the Sully children. They introduce Kayla to txampaysye -gill mantle- and instruct her on how to use it in order to breathe underwater. Kayla wasn't far off. The gill mantles really did look like fairy wings, but other than maybe a few comments or stories, none of the Na'vi children would know what exactly a fairy was. The children and their aunt spend the evening doing as Neytiri suggested, gathering underwater plants and barnacles alongside other Metkayina, most of whom all wore the txampaysye. By the time the communal dinner rolled around, the Sully family was exhausted, but content all the same.
~~~~~~~~~
A peaceful morning where the Sullys invite Kayla over for breakfast goes uneventful until they're rolling up their nivi after a good night's rest. Their peace is interrupted by a horn, followed by whoops and hollers of celebration coming from outside. Confused and on edge, Jake and the kids emerge from the marui, looking around as the Metkayina jump around and dive into the water, making the newcomers curious as to what was going on.
Their answer came in the form of Tsireya, astride an ilu as she waved down her people from the water below their homes, "The tulkun have returned! Everybody! Our Brothers and Sisters have returned!"
Kayla looked up toward the atoll wall protecting the village from less docile nature. Emerging from the tunnels and pathways underneath the wall were rolling waves indicating something large below the water. Spurts of seaspray spring out like geysers from beneath the ocean's surface. It was a large pod of whale-like creatures, massive and slow. Their descent onto the village was graceful and one that brought much joy to the Metkayina as they couldn't get in the water fast enough.
The Sully kids couldn't wait either, jumping from the walkway around their home and into the water below. They scatter, exploring the new creatures one way or another. Tsireya had grabbed Lo'ak when she spotted him and pulled him onto her ilu, swimming away to introduce him to her Spirit Sister. Jake summoned his tsurak and both he and Neytiri take off to observe the sacred animals themselves. Rotxo had come around and pulled Kiri and Tuk away too, leaving Neteyam and Kayla to wander. Ao'nung was not far behind his friend, however, and invited Neteyam to come along with him to find his own Spirit Brother. Earning a small reassurance from his aunt, Neteyam doesn't hesitate to jump in and both teenagers each grab an ilu and take off, making a game of chase with Ao'nung in the lead.
Neteyam kept close to Ao'nung the entire time. The chief's son leads Neteyam through the chaos expertly, the two of them swimming quickly around a particular tulkun. Kiri, Tuk, and Rotxo were hanging onto the bull's fin and gliding peacefully through the water, the tulkun likely the reef boy's Spirit Brother. Neteyam was only able to catch a glimpse of this as they swim by, keeping close to Ao'nung's tail and playfully chasing him.
Jake had been leisurely swimming his skimwing through the maze of tulkun and Metkayina before glancing off to the side and perking up. Reaching back and tapping Neytiri's thigh to grab her attention, he waits until her eyes are on him before pointing out the sight he stumbled across. Following her husband's gaze and finger, Neytiri spots a mother tulkun and her calf, the smaller whale-like creature keeping close, mostly under its mother's fin or belly. Neytiri smiled with delight, her heart melting at the picture.
Kayla had been floating above the surface, watching the vast sight of tulkun from up top the back of an ilu she had successfully summoned. She didn't venture very far until the olo'eyktan sought her out. She noticed his tsurak first, flying above her head before gracefully sinking into the water, folding in its webbed fins. Tonowari brings it back around and swims up to Kayla's side, a determined smile on his lips, "We must put all that you learned to the test. Come meet my Spirit Brother and see how well you can understand and communicate with him."
She nods and dutifully follows him into the water after taking a deep breath. They submerge and take off, weaving through and around the large bodies of tulkun, dodging other ilu and Na'vi while Tonowari keeps his pace slow for Kayla's ilu to catch up. Underwater, Kayla can get a better look at the tulkun, and to her amazement, she realized that most of them were tattooed like their respective Na'vi. Eventually, they come across a large bull and Tonowari slows to a complete stop, disengaging from his tsurak and openly swimming the rest of the way to the heavily tattooed tulkun male. Kayla disengages from her ilu and watches it swim away before swimming in the same direction as the olo'eyktan, keeping a small bit of distance while he approaches the tulkun, greeting it like an old friend with a wide smile before gesturing Kayla to come closer.
When Kayla swims close enough to float near the large eye of the creature, Tonowari motions to the bull and makes rapid hand movements, "This Makayla te Suli tsmuke te Toruk Makto. She is of the Forest People and has come to learn our ways."
"Greetings, Makayla te Suli." The tulkun sings, and Kayla is delighted that she can understand him.
She quickly signs back, just as she had practiced, "I See you, great and mighty tulkun."
"Have you learned much since your arrival?"
"Yes, many things. I have excellent teachers in the olo'eyktan and the tsahik."
"Indeed. You are in good hands with my Brother and his mate. Ro'a speaks highly of her."
Curious, Kayla turns to the olo'eyktan in question, hands slowed by the water as she asks through the Metkayina sign language, "Is Ro'a Ronal's Spirit Sister?"
Tonowari nods while further explaining with his hands, "Yes, and I believe Ro'a has just given birth to her first calf."
"Indeed." The tulkun calls softly, the beautiful sound muffled in Kayla's ears like a song trying to pierce through cotton, "We are very proud and happy for our sister. What of Ronal's child?"
Tonowari beams, "Growing fast. Halfway there."
Kayla faintly smiles as her lungs begin to faintly burn, then quickly makes the appropriate hand motions to signal, "Forgive me. I need air."
She tilts her head upward and kicks her arms and legs to plunge up to the surface. Kayla immediately gasps for air the moment her head broke through the ocean waves, taking deep and calm breaths while looking around at all the joyous reunions going on around her. Laughter and cheers are still clinging to the approaching afternoon air, not a single Metkayina worried about the day's chores as they are too busy reacquainting themselves with their Spirit Brothers and Sisters. Kayla fondly watched these interactions, her heart warm and yet... sad as she watched the Na'vi swim around her without a care in the world. It's not as though she expected anyone to notice her, but it was a brief realization that today she was invisible and an outcast compared to these beautiful tulkun creatures. It was just another reminder that she didn't belong here and she had no Spirit Sister of her own, feeling out of place among an entire lagoon full of tulkun, Na'vi, tsurak, ilu, and other aquatic creatures.
Once she caught her breath, Kayla inhaled deeply and stuck her face back into the water to check out the activity going on beneath her treading feet. Looking around, she managed to catch a glimpse of a familiar Na'vi, a woman, adamantly communicating with her hands toward another tulkun, a female and her calf. Kayla recognized Ronal's ornaments that expressed her importance among the other Metkayina, along with her rounded belly. Without those traits, however, Kayla wouldn't have recognized her because the tsahik was smiling, broadly, unbothered by anything going on around her as she spoke to what had to be her Spirit Sister, Ro'a.
In all the weeks Kayla had been living here, she had never seen Ronal smile, let alone smile like that.
A/N: Please remember that I can't reply to any comments below every chapter because I'm using a secondary account. So if you have questions about the series you would like answers to, please put it in the ask box, thank you!
If you have a request, check the rules first! Much love!
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Just a brief notice that updates are gonna be spotty from here on out as summer is coming to a close and I'll be working two jobs next month (Sept). Keep the love and support coming and I hope to update for y'all soon!
Silent Treatment Part 2 ~ Mansk x Selective Mute Reader
Part 1
Synopsis: After agreeing to join the Recoms on their mission, they set off to explore the forest of Pandora.
Warnings: Vivid bad dreams, minor panic attack, description of hunting and animal death
I had been tossing and turning most of the night, unable to close my eyes for quite awhile. There seemed to be no way to get comfortable in the human made bed. Though after a few hours, I was able to lull myself into a somewhat deep sleep.
I didn't dream of much, but I did think of my family. I thought of how worried my mother might be. The terrified look on Tuk's face as she was grabbed. The crack that had punched it way through to Spider's mask after he had fallen. That one kept coming back repeatedly through the night. Each time worst than the last. Images of what could have happened if it wasn't just the crack. Sometimes, glass was cutting just face, others it had shattered completely as he suffocated on the air around us.
I slowly began to gain consciousness as my body was moving almost aggressively. It stopped for a moment, before I felt someone touched my wrist. I jerked awake as I moved away from the feeling, pressing my back against the wall. Letting out a angry hiss, my heart beats against my chest as adrenaline coursed through my veins. I blinked rapidly while trying to get my eyes to adjust to the lighting in the room.
"Hey, hey it's okay! You're alright. Everything's alright, (Y/n)." His voice hits my ears before I can actually see him. My eyes slowly adjust to see Mansk staring up at me with concerned look on his face. He holds his hand up as I begin to calm my breathing down. My heart still hammers in my chest as I focus on his eyes. They felt so comforting as I sat there, just looking directly at him. As my body started to calm down, a sob forcing its way out of my throat. Slumping forward, I held my body up by leaning on my elbows as tears start falling out of my eyes. I feel Mansk place his hand on one of my shoulders, rubbing small circles through the fabric of his shirt. "It's alright. You just had a bad dream. Everything's alright, just take a deep breath."
Gasping between each sob, I claw at the sheets as I continue crying. He continued rubbing my back, trying to help me calm down in whatever way that he could. Slowly but surely, my breathing started to even out as my eyes started to dry up. Pushing my body back up with a shaky breath, I wipe my face with the back of my hand. Sitting up fully, I rock back and forth gently as I try and calm my mind from the intense emotions I just went through.
Mansk slowly moves away from the bed to grab some things around the room. I feel him look at me occasionally as he moves from one place to the next. After a few minutes of doing whatever he's focused on, he returns back to look up and over the railing again. Reaching up towards me, he holds out an open bottle. "You should drink some water. It'll help calm you down so you can get ready. We still have some time before we have to leave."
I reach out to take it with shaky hands. Bringing it to my lips, I take a few small gulps before taking a deep breath in after I pull it away slightly. I breath slowly as my heart begins to beat regularly again. Taking in a few more drinks, I hand the bottle back to Mansk. Rubbing my eyes, I groan at the pounding that is starting to form in my head.
Taking the bottle back, he put the cap back before moving to place it down on his desk. His attention was back on me again, though he did keep a bit of distance between us. "Are you okay?" His voice was soft as he questioned how I was doing. Giving a small nod, I moved to sit on the edge of the bed. Looking down towards him, I give Mansk a small smile in reassurance.
Jumping down, I land a couple of feet away from him. Standing up straight, I feel his shirt rub itself against my upper thigh. A small blush begins to form on my face as I take it off quickly. I was embarrassed that I hadn't taken it off while I was still in the bed. Once it's over my head, I practically shove the clothing into his hands. He seems shock by the sudden mood change, but takes the shirt back without complaint. Turning my attention away from him, I fix my top to make sure it isn't out of place.
Once I'm sure that my top is covering everything properly, I look back over at him. He appears flustered at the fact he had just watched me grope myself. I give him a confused look, not understanding why he was so embarrassed as it was a normal thing to do for the clan if incidents ever happened. He quickly cleared this throat, seeming to want to change the conversation as soon as possible. "We should start getting to the meeting point. Do you need anything to eat?"
I shake my head at his question. I remember eating some of the sky people food Norm and Max had made once when I was younger. I didn't care much for the taste back then, and they actually put thought into what they were making. I doubt that I want to know what these sky people deem as 'eat able' for their 'Na'vi' soldiers.
Mansk takes my answer without question though, moving around the room to grab the last of what he need before moving to the door. Pulling it open, he let's me go into the hallway first. When I step out, I noticed that not that many people were hanging around like the day before. Though, it could still be fairly early for a majority of the people that were working in the building. Once he made it out into the hallway, he closed the door and started walking away.
I make sure to follow close behind, not wanting to get lost in the maze like halls. His steps are confident as he leads me to the area where we are supposed to meet everyone else at. It does take a few minutes, but eventually we get to a certain hallway. Multiple doors run on one side of it while the other has only one set of double doors. My ears strain at the sound of the outside world just past the door, wanting to be there again.
Mansk went to one of the doors on the opposite wall, pushing it open as he turns towards me. Looking between me and the double doors, he gives me a somewhat questioning look. "I'm going to get ready. You can come in here or stay out here and wait. But don't go outside until I'm done, alright?"
I give him a small nod in understanding as I lean against one of the walls. It apparently pleases him, because he immediately goes into the room and closes the door. Resting my head against the wall, I let out a small huff as I begin waiting. I heard loud voices come from the room once Mansk had walked in, but they were muffled extremely. So I didn't know what kind of conversation was happening in there. There wasn't much other noise in the complex other than that though. I stood there in silence for a few minutes waiting for almost anything to happen.
The distant sound of footsteps hitting the ground cause my ear to perk up at the sudden noise. Looking in the direction it's coming from, I wait to see who will walk into view from around the corner. When I see the blue body of a soldier followed by the body of a human boy, a small smile spread across my face in relief. Once Spider notices me, he runs over to me to wrap is arms around my waist. I hold him close to me as I gently rub his back, happy to have him in my sight again.
Quaritch walks closer to us, an amused smirk present on his face. I give him a small glare, noticing that he is already in all of his gear, minus the weapons. I give him one last look before turning my attention back to Spider. Pushing him back just enough that I can get a good look at him, I begin to check his body for any form of injury he could have gotten since yesterday. I take notice of his mask that is hooked onto the string of his loincloth along with the oxygen tank it's hooked to. Taking a good look at it, I make sure that the glass is scoff free.
Spider pulls away as I continue to look over him. He laughed at the concern I was showing, not knowing why I was incessant to check up on him. "Calm down, I'm okay (Y/n). It was just one night, it's not like I was locked outside by myself."
Giving him an unammused look, I pull away from him completely. I finally felt convinced that he was unhurt since Quaritch took him to wherever he did yesterday. Before anything else could happen, the door opened up as Mansk, Lyle, and Z-Dog all came out with one another. They all have their gear on minus the weapons, just like the Colonel.
Lyle smirked as he saw me standing there, clearly still in his mood from yesterday. Z-Dog quickly took notice and shoved his head as she moved past him. I smiled at the look on his face when Z-Dog pushed him slightly. Mansk moved over to stand next to me, his glasses resting on top of his head.
Lyle takes notice of how soon we are by each other again. His voice sounds disturbingly sweet as he gives a stupid smirk, "Aw, look at the cute little couple. They can't stand to be away from one another."
"Back off Lyle. You're just mad that she called you out in front of the team yesterday," Z-Dog tried to shut down Lyle, clearly unimpressed that his attitude was still the same from the night before. At least she wasn't the only one who felt that way. Spider was glaring up at Lyle after the comment left his mouth. He clearly didn't like the way he was still treating me from the night before.
Before the conversation could go any further, Quaritch started heading towards the double doors. "Alright that's enough. Put your mask on kid, we're going outside."
The rest of us followed after Quaritch so we were standing by the door as we waited for Spider. He rolled his eyes, but reached down to put his oxygen mask on.
Once he was sure it was secured correctly, he joined the rest of us at the door. As soon as he came to stand by us, Quaritch put in a code to the keypad beside the door. They soon opened, allowing everyone to walk into the small pace the was used to separate the base and the outside. Quaritch was the last to walk in, making the door close by pressing another button. Once the door was sealed, the pressure of the room shifted, no longer feeling like what it was like in the building. It felt like the atmosphere that I was born to live in. Just before the second set of door opened, I place a hand on Spider's shoulder to pull him a little closer to me.
Once the door opens up to the outside world, the both of us immediately walk out of the small space. Making sure that I'm still within a decent distance from Mansk, we watch as the soldiers begin to grab their weapons from a row of lockers that line one part of the wall. Checking out the surrounding area, I notice a few of the soldiers from yesterday standing around. They all seem to be ready to go, but not everyone seems to have arrived on time.
Once everyone had grabbed their weapons, they moved to join the rest of the group. I tried to lead Spider towards them, but he stayed in place with a confused look. "Are we not getting our bows back?"
Quaritch stopped walking, turning to face us slowly. He had a thoughtful smirk on his face as he looked between me and Spider. When he finally spoke, his tone was serious, "And why would you need them to begin with?"
"To go hunting. The food you guys have to eat sucks." I smiled at Spider's response, proven right about choosing to not eat earlier. Though I thought that was a reasonable enough response, Spider added another good point, "Besides, we need to be able to protect ourselves in case something happens."
Quaritch seemed to think for a second, letting out a small chuckle once he came to a conclusion. Walking back to the lockers, he opened one and pulled out one bow and the arrows that went with it. Walking over to us, he held out my bow for me to take from his grasp.
As I reached out, he started speaking again, "(Y/n) will get her bow back. And she'll only use it if given permission to do so. Mansk will keep ahold of your arrows until you need one. Spider, you'll be sticking with me, so you won't need anything."
I glare at the man as I finally take my bow from his out stretched hand. I wasn't impressed that he wasn't giving Spider anything to protect himself with while we out there. And the fact he was giving Mansk more control over me than was needed. I rolled my eyes in annoyance as I put my bow on so it was resting on my back.
Looking down to see Spider's reaction, I could tell he was upset with the decision. Before he could say anything that could get him in trouble, I gently squeezed his shoulder before pushing him towards the rest of the group. I let go of Spider as I go to stand off to the side of the group with Z-Dog. Her face remained neutral for the whole ordeal, but her eyes did hold a small bit of sympathy.
With the situation settled to his liking with no vocal complaint, the Colonel clapped his hand together. "Alright, now that that's settled, let's get started."
When we finally made it to the forest, the group had begun to explore the forest slowly. They were trying to learn how to 'act like Na'vi' so they could find my family, like their leader had advised them to do. Most of them were clumsy as they walked, but they were slowly figuring out how to move through the forest without much incident. Spider was helping lead the group with Quaritch, while I stayed towards the back to keep an eye on everyone. I wanted to try and make sure none of them did anything stupid while they were out here.
Mansk was walking along side me, though he made sure to keep a few feet between us. Out of everyone else, he seemed to have the least amount of trouble as we got deeper into the forest. I would look over at him occasionally, just to check and see how he was doing. If he noticed me looking at him, Mansk didn't say anything about it. In fact, it seemed like we both had an unspoken agreement that we wouldn't actually acknowledge one another after he was put in charge of my arrows. I knew it wasn't his fault or choice, but I still had the right to be upset about what happened. And he was willing to be the person that I was angry at.
In front of us, Spider had stopped walking as he got to the center of a small clearing. Everyone gathers around him while he looks around for a second. Once he is satisfied with what he sees, he looks up at Quaritch as he begins to explain, "We should make camp here for the night. Eclipse will be in a couple hours so we have time to prepare. We can gather fire wood and forge for some fruits."
Some of the soldiers seemed uninterested in spending the night out in the open. Quaritch however, gives a small nod in agreement to the suggestion given to him. "Alright, we'll set up camp for the night. But I don't think fruit will be enough to feed everyone. Got any bright ideas on how to fix that dilemma?"
"I will go hunt for food." Everyone turned to look at me once that statement left my mouth. A few looked skeptical about the idea of me going off in order to find them food. I didn't pay them any mind, looking at the Colonel to get his permission.
Spider decided to speak in my favor as Quaritch and I continue to stare at one another, "It's would be a good idea. (Y/n) is a capable hunter for the clan. She can track a big enough animal to be able to feed everyone."
The Colonel let out a sigh as he nodded his head. "Alright. But no trying anything funny while you're out there. Remember, Mansk will be keeping a close eye of you. You don't want him to turn on your little collar now do you?"
I gave him a sarcastic little smile before turning towards Mansk. Looking down at his shoes, I gave them a small kick as I mumbled, "Take off." Staring back at him, I noticed that he seemed uncertain about my request. I gave another small kick which seemed to bother him enough. As he kneeled down, I closed my eyes to focus on the sounds around us. Paying close attention in one direction, I heard the call of a couple of grazers which could be just about a mile or two out.
When I opened my eye again, Mansk had just taken his shoes off completely. He stood up slowly, tossing his shoes towards the rest of the group. I brought my bow into my hand before grabbing his arm to lead him in the direction I heard the grazers. I heard a few of the guys laugh as I pulled Mansk along, but he didn't protest as I continued to drag him away into the forest. In fact, he seemed eager to get away from the rest of the group.
We had been walking for about 5 minutes, when Mansk suddenly stopped walking, catching my attention quickly. I turned towards him confused about the sudden change he was displaying. He reached around to where my quiver was, grabbing ahold of it before handing it towards me. I was shocked as I look up at him, unsure on if I should take it from him or it was a trick. He gave a small sigh as he grabbed my hand to place it within my grasp. I looked at him in confusion, not understanding what was happening at the moment.
I think he was returning my gaze, but it was hard to tell with his glasses on. Mansk was quiet for a moment before finally speaking, "You know when you'll one better than I will. I'll take it from you before we get back to the group. Just... don't do something you might regret."
I gave him a slow nod as I put my quiver in its rightful place on my body. My eyes search his face for a moment, but I frown as I get to the glasses covering his eyes. Reaching out, I carefully pull them from his face. He flinched away, but I stand firm on the choice to take them off. Once I remove them from his face, I hand them back to him. I look down at his hand as he takes them back, my voice soft as I explain to him, "You need to see where you go on a hunt. Pandora will kill you if you don't pay attention to her."
He seems a little shocked by the concern I show for him, but he still listened to what I said. Instead of putting the glasses back on, Mansk tucked them into the collar of his shirt. Giving him one last look, I turned back around to continue on with the hunt. I could hear him follow behind me, causing me to smile a little. It was obvious he wasn't trained to move around the forest quietly like my siblings and I were. Though, it wasn't as bad if he had kept his boots on.
We continued to walk in silence as I was looking for any sign of animals the further we got. Looking down at the ground, I noticed the hoove prints of a hexapede imprinted into the mud. Kneeling down, I take a closer look at the tracks to get some more information. I notice that they are extremely fresh. They couldn't have been made more than a half hour ago. Turning back to Mansk, I see that he is looking down at me intently. Putting a finger to my lip, I point towards the tracks as I stand up slowly. He looks down at them, giving a nod in understanding to the information I was try to relay to him.
We continued onward, more cautious with the prospect of the hunt. I brought my bow in front of me as I reached to get an arrow out. My movements are silent as I notch the arrow while I scan the surrounding area. Hearing the sound of flowing water, I quietly hide in a group of shrubs. Motioning for Mansk to follow my lead, I slowly peek out to take a look around. There is a small stream not too far out, a lone hexapede having stopped to take a drink from it. Luckily, it didn't seem to have heard the both of us approaching. I feel Mansk crouch down next to me as he looked towards the stream as well.
Taking a deep breath, I bring the bow up and pull the arrow back in order to make the shot. Waiting for the right time to take the shot, the hexapede's head came up as it finished taking its drink. Breathing out slowly, I release the string as I watch the scene closely. When the arrow hits, the creature falls down without making any noise of discomfort. A clean kill without any unnecessary pain to the animal.
Running out of the shrubs to the creature, I double check to make sure it's dead. Letting out a small sigh in relief, I say a soft prayer to thank Eywa for providing us with the a successful hunt. I pull the arrow out as gently as I can, grimacing slightly at the sound that it made.
Placing my hand on the creature, I turn around to look back towards Mansk. He had moved out of the plants to take a look at the hexapede. I give him a small smile as he walks closer to get a better view. Soon, he's kneeling beside me to get a better look. His amber eyes scan everything as his face turns thoughtful as he continues to stare. My eyes soften as he reaches out to gently rest his hand against it. I stare at his hand for a little while, touched by the compassion he had for the animal. Finally, I look back towards his face, wanting to say something to him. However, the words get lost in my throat when I see movement right above his head.
Looking above him, I place my hand on top of his arm as my mouth hangs agape. He looks at me before moving his gaze to look upwards himself. A small woodspire floats down slowly, right above Mansk. I watch with bated breath as it lands on his forehead caressing it for a moment before it moved downward. My eyes followed it as it moves to place itself against my hand that's holding his arm. It stays for a moment, calming my racing heart at its presence. Just as suddenly as it came, the woodspire floats away back into the forest.
I watch it leave with Mansk, neither one of us saying anything. When I finally look back at him, he appears confused by the whole ordeal. A frown is on his face as he looks at me to ask, "What just happened with that?"
A look of awe spread across my face as I looked into his eyes. My voice was quiet as I gave him a small smile, "It is a sign. Eywa has chosen you."
~Hey everyone! Sorry for the long wait for part 2. Life has been a bit hectic but I will get the next part out soon than it took this one. As always, feel free to request!
Jake held a young boy in his arms. They were laying on his sleep pallet, the gentle sound of waves crashing into the shore lulling them to sleep. Spider had his arms loosely wrapped around his middle, his head resting on his chest. He was struggling to keep his eyes open under the mask, slowly fluttering shut.
He was less tense when he slept, Jake noted. He knew the pain of his punishment lingered on his body, the dull ache never truly subsiding even after taking the medicine that Norm had given. Subconsciously, Jake scoffed at the memory of his interaction with the avatar.
____
Jake waited as the familiar helicopter landed. Instantly, out rushed a tall blue figure, dressed oddly in human clothes. He was carrying a small bag of medical supplies, careful to not jostle it with every step.
"Jake! Where's Spider?" Norm asked, and Jake gestured to him to follow. They walked quickly, reaching Jake's marui. The aforementioned boy was laying down over a pallet, blood staining the ground beneath him. Dried tears stained his face, his body caked in his own dried blood. He was pale and clammy, stuck in a daze. One leg of his was horribly twisted and broken, bone poking out at jagged edges. The flesh was torn off, revealing twitching muscle and tissue. The iron scent of blood hung in the air like a suffocating silence.
"Jesus!" Norm was beside him in a second, his hands practically moving on autopilot. Spider whined and hissed every time he was touched, soft pleas for help erupting from his lips. "How the hell?" He asked, sparing the other man a questioning glance. Jake sighed. "He tried to ride my skimwing. He didn't react very well." He explained.
Norm nodded. It sounded like something Spider would do. He remembers when the boy tried to get on an ikran, that hadn't ended well. And while he didn't know too much about the sea creatures, he thought the injury didn't line up with Jake's story. Wouldn't a skimwing bite or buck him off? Unless one managed to slam itself into Spider's leg, tear open his flesh and snap his bone in several places without ever making use of its teeth, he wasn't getting these injuries from a skimwing.
Norm kept quiet as he worked diligently. He'd press Jake on it later, he told himself. Right now, there's a teenager who needs serious medical attention in front of him.
At some point, when the sky was dark and stars hung across the heavens, someone had entered their marui. Ronal, the tsahik of the Metkayina, he noted. She was carrying medical supplies in her arms, and an apprehensive expression on her face. Her ears twitched downwards, and she bared her teeth in a low hiss when she saw Norm.
He greeted her with the standard "I see you." She greeted him stiffly, approaching him and the boy. Jake gritted his teeth, trying to keep a vicious snarl off his face. "I've come to help." She explained, taking a seat on the opposite side of Norm. "The people saw you rushing in with the boy, they said he was bleeding." She says, her voice even. "What happened?"
Jake sighs. "He–," he glances up at her, "--tried to ride a skimwing."
Ronal paused in her ministrations, looking up at him with an indiscernible expression. She shares something akin to understanding with Norm for a sickening moment.
"If you say so."
_____
Lil yandere jake bit that i gave up on. My bb boy deserves love even if its the brutal, obsessive, toxic and unhealthy kind. Might pick this back up
Update: finished my tests!!! Flopped w chem tho. Got absolutely decked.
Warning: Fluff, Tsu'tey being worried about you (aww), small moments of doubt.
Synopsis: After leaving for a hunt, Tsu'tey asks Neytiri to check up on you. After talking with her for a while, you decide to have a conversation with Tsu'tey.
Part 1
It had been about a week since I had gotten hurt. Tsu'tey was being really sweet and caring as the time progressed. He always made sure to change my wrappings daily and would get me fresh fruits every morning. He was even helping me strengthen the muscles in my back through daily stretches to help with the healing process. Though, he always made sure I wasn't pushing myself too much.
This morning he was getting ready to go on a hunt with some of the other warriors. I was currently sitting on the floor, having healed enough that it doesn't hurt much anymore. Though I still wasn't able to move my arm as much, I decided to weave a basket to try and work on regaining a bit of mobility with it.
Tsu'tey came over to me as he was about to leave. Kneeling down beside me, he placed a gentle hand on the side of my face. I looked up at him to see a slight look of concern in his eyes. He had been hesitant about leaving me for the day, but I told him that I would be fine for one afternoon.
I gave him a smile as I place my hand over his. Leaning in, I placed a small kiss on his lips. "Tsu'tey, I promise that I'll be fine on my own. You go and enjoy the hunt today. Nothing is going to happen to me while you're gone."
He let out a small sigh at my words. Leaning forward, he place his forehead against mine. His eyes were closed as he began to speak quietly, "I just worry you might need me while I am away. You have yet to be by yourself since you got hurt. I don't want you pushing yourself while I'm not here."
"I promise that I won't do anything too extreme. I'll just sit here weaving until you get back. Now go before they leave without you." Giving him one final kiss, I gently pushed Tsu'tey away with a smile. He gave on in return as he caressed my cheek before finally going to leave.
I watched him leave, sighing softly once he was out of sight. Turning my attention back to the soon-to-be basket resting in my lap, I began to weave. Though I was going a little slower than I liked, I knew it was just because my arm need to strengthen the muscles again. Plus, the bone was starting to set like it was before breaking.
I had been weaving for about an hour when I heard someone climbing up the tree. Placing the basket to lay down in front of me, I carefully stood up to make my way towards the entrance. As I got closer, Neytiri had made her way into the hut. As soon as we made eye contact, she smiled before making her way over to me.
I laughed lightly as I pulled her into a big hug. She was careful wrapping her arms around me, but returned it with similar enthusiasm. "I'm so happy to see you, Neytiri. How have you been? Is Jake doing alright?"
She pulled back in order to look at me, keeping a hold of my arms to not full break the contact. Neytiri continued smiling as she spoke softly, "I have been well. Jake is doing better after resting for a while. He is actually supervising training today. How are you? Do you need to sit down?"
"I've been sitting all day so standing is actually a nice change of pace. What are you doing here? I wasn't expecting anyone to come over."
"Tsu'tey actually found me before he left with the hunting party. He asked me to check on you to make sure..." Neytiri's voice slowly faded as her eyes went to trail down to my arm. She moved her hand to grab hold of my shoulder as she looked at my throat. Her expression was hard to read as Neytiri continued to remain focused at the necklace Tsu'tey had give me. I began to get nervous as she continued to say nothing. Finally, a small smile broke out on her face as she whispered, "You agreed."
After that, I was wrapped in a tight hug being rocked back and forth gently. I laughed in relief, happy that Neytiri was excited for me as well. Holding on to her, I sigh before a confused look crossed my face. Pulling away enough to look at her, I was quiet as I asked, "You knew about it?"
Neytiri remained calm as I waited for her answer. She had a gentle smile as she ran a gentle finger across the beads. "Of course. Tsu'tey had asked Jake if he could court you beforehand to get his blessing. He even asked what colors you liked so he could make your gift. Oh, Jake will be so happy to hear this. You are in good hands with Tsu'tey. I promise you that (Y/n)."
I smiled at her words, touched by how thoughtful Tsu'tey had been before he decided to court me. The fact that he went to make sure Jake was willing to agree that he was a worthy person made my heart feel warm.
Neytiri rubbed my arm as she hesitated to ask, "Have you made tsaheylu yet?"
I gave a small shake of my head at her question. "No, we agreed that we were going to wait until I got well enough. He wants to do it properly and so do I."
She gave a thoughtful hum at my response. "That is a very good idea. Tsu'tey probably wants to prove himself as well. Show he that can provide you and the family you both might have one day. He has already given you the home to do so. He wants to make this perfect for you so you will still accept when you do make tsaheylu."
I smiled at the thought of Tsu'tey trying so hard to prove himself to me. He had already put so much thought into be a good partner, I couldn't even begin to imagine what he would be like once we finally mated. Bringing my hand to my neck, I slowly fidget with the arrowhead as I continue thinking.
Moving back towards the basket I had previously forgotten about, I motion for Neytiri to sit with me. Bringing the basket back to my lap, I begin weaving once again as we just enjoy the company of one another. I begin to hum a random melody as I got to be about halfway done.
"Have you thought much of the future?" My hands stop moving at the sudden question. I look over at Neytiri in confusion, not fully understanding what she meant. Noticing my expression, Neytiri was quick to explain, "Have you put much thought into what will happen once you have mated? I know it is much to think about, but you need to imagine your life far into the future. Mostly for if you will want children or not. Tsu'tey has been keen on becoming a father for a long time. If you don't want children, you need to speak with him now so that he knows beforehand."
Letting out a sigh, I put the basket off to the side. Reaching out, I place a hand on her arm. Looking deep into her eyes, I make sure to keep my voice soft, "Neytiri, I promise that I will talk with him. And I have thought about what you have concerns about. Believe me, I know how serious the situation is and I'm not taking it lightly."
A look of relief crosses over her face at my words. She pulled me towards her, giving me a small hug. Wrapping my arms around her, I rub her back as we sit in silence. For a while, we just hold one another before we hear some noise coming up the tree. We both pull away as we wait to see who it was that was coming to visit.
Not a minute had passed before both Tsu'tey and Jake had made it into the hut. Jake was the first to see the both of us, a wide grin on his face as he walked over to us. "Well if it isn't my two favorite girls! I'm so glad that we found you. Who would have thought we could find the both of you here."
I give Jake a confused look, wondering if he thought the statement through or not. Looking over at Neytiri, I see that she has a similar expression, though hers also has a hint of disappointment in it. Leaning over, I whisper in her ear, "Remember, you chose him out of everyone else that was available."
She let's out a sigh as she nods her head. "Believe me, I know."
Jake comes over to us with a curious grin on his face. Sitting down in front of Neytiri, he looked between the both of us while asking, "What are you both talking about?"
I shrug my shoulders as I look back over at him. "Nothing important." Turning my attention to Tsu'tey, I notice he had moved to put away all his gear and whatever he had brought back. I sent him a small smile as he started to walk towards us. "How was the hunt?"
Tsu'tey gave a tight lipped smile as he looked down at me. Giving a small nod, he sat down with the rest of us. "It went very well. The clan will have enough meat to last for sometime. Were you alright while I was gone?"
I gave a small nod in return. As I opened my mouth to ask some more questions, Jake interrupted me. "What's on your neck?"
I give him a look of disbelief as I sarcastically respond, "A necklace. You're just now seeing it?"
Jake looked at it for a long while, before turning to Tsu'tey. He has a stupid grin on his face as he looks between the two of us. "So, you finally decided to tie the knot huh?"
Leaning forward, I hit Jake's forehead with a small hiss, "Don't say it like that you idiot. And it is none of your business."
Jake backed away with a surprise look on his face. He held on hand up as he leaned away on the other. "Hey, you don't have to be so rude. Also, I feel like it is a bit of my business considering that you're my sister, (Y/n). I already knew anyway, I just thought you would be able to take a joke about it."
"I'm sorry, Jake. I must have left my humor back up in the tree." I gave a small glare towards Jake, though it's contrasted by a playful smile on my face.
"I said I was sorry! Can't we just move past that?" He had a pleading look on his face, though I knew he wasn't being serious. I shook my head with a small eye roll. Seeing my reaction, Jake smiled as he moved so he was sitting upright again. Placing a hand on my knee, his tone was still playful but mostly serious, "Honestly though, I'm glad that you are feeling better. I felt really bad about what happened."
I pushed his hand away with a grin. Picking my basket up once again, I returned to working on it. "I'm glad you're fine as well. But next time you have an idea, stay out of trees."
Jake laughs a bit, but nods his head in agreement. Neytiri smiles a bit as she pulls me into a sideways hug. "We should be leaving now. We will see you both again once you are completely well (Y/n). Have a good night."
Though he hesitants, Jake stands as well to follow after Neytiri. He ruffles my hair as he says his goodbyes. Once him and Neytiri had finally left, I reached out to place a hand on Tsu'tey's cheek. Looking into his eyes, my voice is soft, "I'm glad you're back home now. It felt too quiet until Neytiri had come over."
Tsu'tey grabbed my hand as he turned his head, placing his lips against my pulse point. Getting up for a moment, he comes to sit behind me. Wrapping his arms around my waist, Tsu'tey rested his chin on my shoulder. I smiled a little as I brought a hand up to rest on the back of his head. Turning slightly, I gave him a peck on the edge of his lips. He hummed in disapproval as he brought his hand up to turn my head enough for him to place his lips directly on mine. He kept me like that for a moment, slowly pulling away while maintaining his hold on my chin.
Letting out a small sigh, I lean back further into Tsu'tey's hold. I close my eyes as I begin to think about what Neytiri had spoken to me about earlier. Deciding that now would be the best time to bring it up, I break the silence while keeping my voice as calm as possible, "Tsu'tey, I think we need to have a talk." I feel him give a small hum in encouragement, ready to listen to whatever I was about to say. Taking a deep breath, I decided to just get to the point. "Do you want to have children one day?"
I felt him tense slightly as he hears my question. Tightening his hold around my waist, he let's out a quiet sigh, "I have... thought about the idea of having children."
"That's not what I asked." Opening my eyes, I move around in his hold so I can look at him without straining my neck. Resting one of my hands on his shoulder, my voice is firm as I repeat myself, "Do you want children, Tsu'tey?"
His ears pinned back as I ask him the question again. He refuses to meet my gaze as I wait for the answer. After a minute, Tsu'tey slowly nods his head. He was barely able to let out a whispered, "I would like to."
My heart broke at the sight of shame he held in his eyes. I gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze to encourage him to look back at me. But he closed his eyes instead, not wanting to see my reaction. I huff softly as I rest my head on his chest, listening to his rapid heartbeat. Thinking for a moment, I finally muttered, "I want at least two. We could always have more though if you want."
Tsu'tey's eyes widen in surprise as he looks down at me. His mouth is open but no words come out. I raise my brows with an encouraging grin as I wait for him to finally speak again. Slowly a wide smile spread across his face as he gave a small laugh. Leaning down, he began to leave kisses all over my face. Starting on my forehead, moving to my cheeks, leaving a few soft pecks on my nose, before finally leave a deep, passionate kiss against my lips. Leaning further into the kiss, a soft purr made it's way through my chest.
Reluctantly, he pulled away, both of us gasping for breath. Pressing his forehead against mine, his voice was soft, "I'm happy that you feel this way. You have feeled my heart with those words alone. I cannot wait until the moment I can make you my mate, Ma'(Y/n)."
My cheeks darken at the endearing name he called me. Moving my arms around his shoulders, I give him a loving hug while rubbing his back. "I can't wait either. I see you, Tsu'tey."
I feel a purr vibrate throughout his chest at my statement. Gripping onto me tighter, Tsu'tey rocks the both of us back and forth. Placing a soft kiss on the top of my head, he stayed like that as he move a hand to rest on the back of my neck. "And I see you, (Y/n)."
~Hey everyone! Sorry for the long wait for part 2. I am planning on working a bit on the Mansk series that I am writing, but I do plan on writing other oneshots or mini series as well to be a bit more active. Feel free to request anything that you can think of or if you want a part 3 where they mate. Otherwise, I have a few ideas on some things. Have a great day!
II — i remember her hands, and the way the mountains looked.
Synopsis: In which the Sullys approach the mountain clan for sanctuary. The Olo'eykte agrees but proposes one condition: Toruk Makto's eldest son must be promised to her daughter. Surprisingly, instead of the solemn response one would expect, Neteyam agrees almost instantaneously.
Tags: Female! Mountain Na'vi! Reader, Arranged Marriage, Sun&Moon couple, Strangers to Lovers, Neteyam is whipped, Mentions of Jealousy&Possessiveness, Romantic tension, Neteyam wanting to impress his girl, Lo'ak having the time of his life teasing the shit out of Neteyam, Reader has that Tsahik rizz
Word Count: 2.8k | AO3 LINK
< PREV | SERIES MASTERLIST | NEXT (Soon) >
With the village of the Iuva'ri clan now their new home, the Sullys followed you past open fields, their eyes wandering in amazement at the sights.
Everywhere they looked, the hustle and bustle of daily life surrounded them. Hunters could be seen hauling large beasts into the village, farmers had their hands deep in the earth as they worked to ensure a bountiful harvest, and weavers, with their deft hands, skillfully crafted intricate patterns into fabric.
Though the environment was not too different from what they were used to in the forest, it was still a significant change from the wild, cluttered jungle they had known all their life.
While his family was busy taking all of the clan in, Neteyam was fully focused on you. He watched in fascination as the village parted when you walked past, people practically throwing themselves aside to clear your path. From elders to children, they bowed in reverence and greeted you with warmth and admiration, recognizing you as their Tsahìk.
Through the walk, Neteyam also couldn't help but notice how your presence captured the attention of the young men and women around. Warriors, weavers, hunters – they all seemed to be drawn to you, stopping in their tracks with blushing cheeks as they exchanged hushed words. Their lingering gazes and subtle glances, their eyes which seemed to follow you like a predator stalking its prey, didn't escape Neteyam's watchful eyes.
As he observed this intense attention you garnered, a pang of possessiveness surged through his gut, and his tail lashed out in irritation.
Neteyam felt torn, battling with the internal struggle of feeling irrationally possessive. Deep down, he knew he had no right to be jealous. After all, he had no claim over you, and he had yet to truly earn your trust and affection.
The announcement of your courtship clearly took the clan by surprise. While some genuinely celebrated your happiness, others found it difficult to hide their envy. Evident by the glares sent his way from those who might have hoped to be in his place.
This scrutiny only served to intensify his emotions.
"This will be your home now," you called out, your voice calm and welcoming, pulling him away from his thoughts. Neteyam watched as you guided them to a beautifully crafted hut elevated on bamboo wooden stilts. It stood gracefully above the ground, a testament to the skilled craftsmanship of your people. The roof was steeply pitched and thatched with nipa palm leaves, while the walls were intricately woven from bamboo slats.
Tuktirey gasped in amazement, her eyes wide with childish wonder as she marveled at the hut's elevated design. "It's so tall!" she exclaimed, clearly impressed by the unique structure.
You hummed, understanding their awe and sensing the underlying hesitation in some of them.
"You will grow to like it," you reassured with a small smile. "It may be different from what you're used to, but it will keep you safe and warm. Our people have lived in harmony with Eywa and these lands for generations."
Tuktirey beamed up at you. "I can't wait to explore and learn more about your ways," she cheers, enthusiasm evident.
“I am sure you will learn well, little one,” you hum, running a hand through her braided hair.
With ease, you then moved towards the stairs, climbing up with a sense of familiarity as you began to haul their belongings to their new home. The family followed behind you, still feeling a tad bit out of place.
After ensuring they were comfortable, you began to excuse yourself, knowing you needed to give them some privacy. As you walked past Neteyam, catching his gaze, you gently rest your hand upon his chest. After murmuring a quick goodbye, you withdrew your hand and swiftly left the hut. Neteyam’s mind ran haywire, the spot where your hand had been burned with a sudden fire, leaving a lingering sensation on his skin that he couldn't shake off.
Eywa. It had only been a day and already you had an effect on him.
With your departure, the family gathered together, finding a spot to discuss the events that had transpired earlier. Neytiri paced back and forth in the open hut, footsteps loud against the wooden flooring, her mind racing with a myriad of thoughts and emotions.
"Alright," Jake sighed, running a rugged hand down his face, breaking through the tension. "We have to unpack what just happened earlier."
Neytiri nodded, her brow furrowed as she tried to make sense of the situation. Her eyes turned to Neteyam, concern evident in her voice as she asked, "Ma'itan, are you sure of this?"
"Oh, he sure is," Lo'ak answered for his brother, sending a grin his way. "I mean—Did you hear him back there?"
"I will accept this proposal. Only if she will have me," he mocked, mimicking Neteyam's accent in a deep, gravely tone. Kiri couldn't help but hide her face with her hand, trying to stifle her laughter.
"Skxawng," Neteyam snarled playfully and gave Lo'ak a light smack in response, which only made his younger siblings laugh even more.
"Enough, you two," Neytiri's voice rang out, cutting through the air. She shook her head in exasperation, her beaded locks swaying and rattling with her movements. Turning her attention back to her eldest, her tone dropped a timbre as she murmured, "Neteyam, this is a big decision. Are you truly sure about this? You wish to mate with that woman?"
Neteyam's gaze shifted from his brother to his mother, lips drawing into a contemplative frown as the weight of it all settled heavily on his shoulders. The significance of such a union wasn't lost on him. The mating bond was not merely a union of bodies; it was the fusion of two souls, a sacred connection dictated by Eywa. He took a deep breath, trying to find the right words to express his feelings.
"I am sure," he replied, his voice steady, despite the turmoil inside him. Neytiri studied his face for a moment, catching the hesitation laced in his expression.
"You do not have to do something your heart is against," his mother whispered, reaching forward, both of her hands finding his tense shoulders, rubbing deep circles into his muscle. Neteyam felt the warmth and reassurance in his mother's touch, and for a moment, he leaned into it, finding comfort in her presence.
"That’s the thing. My heart isn’t against it. I just… I felt something when I saw her." He then hesitated, struggling to unknot his mind and put his feelings into words. "Like-Like a heartbeat."
Kiri's eyes sparkled with wonder, a look of recognition flashing behind her eyes. Her tail swished with delight as she leaned forward eagerly, the shawl slipping off her shoulder in the haste of her movement. "You must have felt Eywa's connection with her. Was it like a calling? Could you feel a mighty heartbeat?"
Neteyam froze, his gaze turning to his younger sister.
"Yes. Exactly that, Kiri," he replied, his voice filled with a hint of disbelief. "It was like… she was calling out to me in some way, as if our souls were somehow intertwined."
Kiri's excitement grew, and she couldn't contain her joy. “Eywa has blessed you with a gift, brother. Rarely do mates feel such a deep soul connection on the first time they meet."
"Soul connection? That’s love at first sight, huh?" Jake interjected, his eyes glinting as he glanced at Neytiri with a knowing smile. "Sound familiar?"
Neytiri's stern façade softened as she smiled back, unable to hide her amusement. "Yes, it does," she admitted with a fondness in her voice. Her eyes sparkled with a mixture of understanding and warmth as she looked at her eldest son. "Neteyam, ma’itan, if you truly feel this connection, then it may be a sign from Eywa herself. The steps you take next will be entirely up to you."
"It's just like those stories we've heard, bro. Soulmates and destined love,” Lo’ak chimed in. “You and her, together, guided by Eywa's hand," he smirked, clasping his hands together and making kissy faces. Neteyam huffed, shaking his head.
"Yeah. It might be like that," he admitted with a touch of bashfulness.
"But let's not get carried away with the dramatics,” Neteyam sighs, snapping himself back to reality. “I still want to get to know her first. I want to take it slow.”
“Slow, huh? Is that what you call asking her to mate with you on the spot?" Lo’ak laughed.
“Lo’ak!” Neytiri hissed, glaring at him disapprovingly.
"I did not ask her to mate with me on the spot!" Neteyam snaps through gritted teeth, his voice rising slightly in embarrassment.
Lo'ak's laughter boomed through the air, thoroughly relishing the sight of his older brother's flustered expression. It was a rare occasion for Neteyam to be caught off guard by his teasing, always having a smartass rebut at the tip of his tongue.
"Yeah? Well, it sure looked like it to me," he snickered, his tail swishing back and forth in interest. Neytiri intervened, smacking him upside on the head. Lo’ak winced in response, and nursed the spot where his mother had hit him.
"Ow, ow, I get it," he groaned, lying flat on the floor. "I'll stop."
"Alright. ‘Nough of that. Come on," Jake said, with a chuckle, huddling everyone close. Once they had formed a circle, he began to address them, his tone taking on a more serious note, "Listen, I really need you kids to be on your best behavior. And I mean it."
Jake shifts his gaze to his eldest son, “Neteyam becoming a candidate for future Olo'eyktan already stirred things up enough. And I don’t even need to tell you just how messy that’s going to be.”
Neteyam heaved out a tense sigh, keeping his eyes glued to the ground. “Sorry, sir.”
“We’re gonna get through this,” Jake continued, dismissing Neteyam’s apology, his voice carrying a tone of reassurance. “Together.”
Neytiri moved closer to her husband, gently placing her head over Jake's shoulder. “What does your father always say?” Neytiri murmured, her voice soft and soothing.
“Sullys stick together…”
“Little more feeling this time!"
“Sullys stick together!”
As the night falls and the stars twinkle in the dark sky, they finally retire to their new sleeping arrangements. Neteyam lays on his makeshift bed, a woven mat made out of palm and leaves, his mind abuzz with thoughts. He gazes out of the hut's opening, where he can catch a glimpse of you in the moonlight, going about your duties as Tsahìk, checking up on a few of the sick and injured in their huts.
Your silhouette against the moonlit backdrop mesmerizes him, and he finds himself drawn to your presence like a moth to a flame. As you notice his gaze, you offer him a reassuring nod before continuing your duties. His heart swells with warmth at the acknowledgment.
With the comfort of your presence lingering in his mind, Neteyam turns onto his back, feeling a sense of peace settle over him. The gentle rustle of palm leaves outside and the distant sounds of the forest lull him into a state of relaxation. He closes his eyes, allowing himself to fall into a deep and restful sleep.
The next morning, the village awakens early. The sky is painted in hues of pink and orange as the sun begins to rise over the mountains. Knocking gently at the side of their hut, you had called for them before the sun could even fully emerge, offering to show them more of the village and its surrounding wonders.
You lead them through the mountains, showing Kiri, Lo'ak, Tuk, and Neteyam the ways of life in this breathtaking terrain. The trees stand tall and proud, similar to those in the forest they once called home, but here they bear a different kind of energy, surrounded by majestic mountains which hold ancient tales of the ancestors before them. The group walks amidst the trees, their senses heightened by the subtle sounds of wildlife and the fresh scent of earth.
As you lead them further, you come across vast rice fields, a breathtaking sight of lush green beauty stretching as far as the eye can see. The fields seem to come alive with the morning sunlight. The stalks of rice sway gently in the breeze, creating a mesmerizing dance, captivating the forest Na’vi.
Amidst the exploration, Neteyam's keen eyes spot a group of mountain climbers in the distance, scaling the a rocky hill.
"What are they doing?" he questions, his curiosity piqued.
"They're practicing for the coming-of-age ceremony," you say, your gaze following the climbers. Neteyam's curiosity turns into intrigue, and he listens intently as you begin to explain.
"It's an ascent to the clouded peak," you share, pointing to a towering mountain in the distance, its summit shrouded in mist. "At dawn, the candidates gather at the base. It is the tallest mountain in the region and they must set out on a journey to reach the summit."
Lo’ak whistles, grimacing while he sizes up the daunting landscape before him. "We have to climb that?" he asks incredulously.
“Only if you want to. Your Omatikayan ikinimaya should be enough for you to be recognized in the clan,” you assure him with a pat on his back.
Neteyam stays silent for the next few minutes, his faraway gaze directed towards the rocky mountain. Suddenly, he startles everyone by speaking up, the words slipping from his mouth causing your eyes to rip wide open.
"I want to partake in it," he says, his voice steady and resolute. The sudden declaration shakes everyone, and his siblings turn their attention fully to him, waiting to hear his reasoning.
You too gaze up at him in disbelief. "Are you certain?" you ask, wanting to ensure that he fully comprehends the challenges that lie ahead. “This is no simple feat—”
"I am strong," Neteyam interrupts, sounding a little harsher than he had intended, but it was important to him that you knew of his abilities. "I will be able to train for it well."
Your milky eyes drop to his battle-hardened body, sweeping over his broad shoulders and the ridges of his defined muscles, glistening softly in the sun’s glow. The scars etched on his skin tell tales of past battles and trials, a testament to his experience. Neteyam holds his ground, finding himself flexing subconsciously under your gaze.
"I know you are strong," you retort.
"Yes—"
"But the warriors of the forest are different from those of the mountains," you cut him off with a pointed stare. "It is not just about physical strength; you will have to learn how they train, their techniques, and their ways of life," you begin to move towards him, a challenging look in your eyes. "It is difficult to fill a cup that is already full."
Neteyam's jaw clenches, his gaze unwavering. "Then I will empty my cup. I will adapt," he asserts with passion. "I will prove myself not just to your people but to myself as well. If I am to be chief, I have to embrace your ways."
"Pretty sure you just want to impress her, bro," Lo’ak quips. Neteyam scowls at his remark and, in a swift motion, drives his elbow straight into his younger brother's side. At the impact, Lo’ak immediately folds, nursing his side as his face contorts in pain. “Fuck!”
Ignoring Lo’ak, Neteyam turns back to you, his expression steadfast and unwavering. In that moment, he feels an overwhelming longing to prove himself to you, to earn your admiration and love based on his own merits, not just because of any preconceived notions or expectations.
His determination shines like a beacon, and his sincerity tugs at your heartstrings. It's as if he's baring his soul before you, showing you the depths of his desire to be someone you can truly respect and admire.
"If you are that eager, then I will teach you," you say, the decision firm in your heart. It feels as if a weight is lifted off his shoulders at your acceptance of his offer. Neteyam hums, trying to maintain a stoic expression but the telltale flicks of his ears and tail betray his anticipation and eagerness.
With a hum, you settle back, your tail flickering behind you in intrigue. If the rumors carried by the wind from clan to clan about him were to be believed, then you should have known he would want to partake in the ceremony.
Such a bold spirit, evident in those golden eyes of his every time he spoke. The mountains around you seemed to echo with approval, as if Eywa herself was acknowledging his resolve.
"Do not be mistaken, though. I will not baby you," you add with a daring lilt in your voice. You begin to walk away, the swing of your hips matching the sway of your tail. "Let us hope you can keep up, mighty warrior."
That seemed to only fuel the fire within him further.
Neteyam’s chest rumbles in a deep laugh, a fanged grin stretching across his cheeks. "Yes, ma’am.”
< PREV | SERIES MASTERLIST | NEXT (Soon) >
see you in the next episode where the reader works her future husband's ass to the ground xoxo
Summary: Y/N te Suli Neytiri’ite is captured and imprisoned by Colonel Miles Quaritch and his squad, alongside her childhood friend - Spider - when attempting to aid her younger siblings whom were cornered by the recom team when exploring the woods. As Jake Sully’s eldest child, she knows it won’t be long until her father bites back at the recombinants, as does Miles. Because, how dare he take his precious daughter? His firstborn? So, with the odds against him — as well as the clock — and not to mention the displeased dad on his tail, Miles knows he must do whatever it takes to get all the information out of her that he can. Whatever it takes.
Content Warnings: Porn with plot omg!! (or maybe just context), explicit smut, lewd language, coercion, manipulation, emotional blackmail?, lima syndrome??, injury, murder, violence, blood consumption? (this mf cleans her cut), verbal threat to life, loss of virginity, p in v intercourse, sex during injury recovery, oral sex (fem receiving), dubious consent, degrading & dominant Miles, manhandling?, tail play? is that a thing?? is now.
A/N: Wrote this instead of Exodus’ third chapter. Oops. Don’t y’all just hate these fat-finger moments? (My phone autocorrected that to ‘fat ginger moments’ help?). There are a couple of parts to this... so I guess it's a mini mini-series. Any requests y'all want to make related to this series, like little bonus chapters or short drabbles, go right ahead omg!!!
The Omaticaya faceclaim in the image above doesn’t belong to me. I found it on pinterest when searching for Na’vi OCs, so credit to its creator. (You can imagine Y/n’s appearance however you’d like, obviously.)
I’d say minors dni, but it’s not like I can actually stop you. If you wanna read this, read it. You’re responsible for your own media consumption. But, with that being said, the following content is rated 18+ for a reason.
Na’vi dialogue is written in English italics.
[I'll proofread this when I can be bothered <33]
The bark, thick and damp, dented the silky, plush flesh of her exposed back as she waited. Pointed ears pricked outward, twitching with every whisper, stood at attention as she listened. Night had descended, the clouds that blanketed the sky not assisting matters. Pandora’s natural wonders were all that illuminated the forest, arguably to their advantage in some aspects.
Eclipse had long passed; her siblings were due home hours ago. It wasn't until Y/N, Neteyam and their parents had become airborne that Jake received Lo’ak’s word of warning through his earpiece. He, Spider, Kiri and Tuk had stumbled across erroneous footprints trekking through the woodland. Only once tracking them toward an area in which they were forbidden entry did they realize something was wrong.
Sky people. Tall, blue sky people.
So, here Y/N was, anxiously awaiting the signal from her mother or father. Neteyam being just sixteen had been ordered to remain with the Ikran; leaving Jake, Neytiri and their eldest to strategically surround the trespassers and somehow free the children with as little bloodshed as possible. The bloodshed of their own, that was. As far as Neytiri was concerned, the more blood that was shed of the sky people, the better.
Movement to Y/N’s left drew her beautifully round orbs of molten gold to a figure amongst the dim shrubbery. Jake crept near enough that his daughter would understand his gesture, and he motioned for her to take up the rear — catching the intruders by surprise — while he covered their flank. She nodded at his instruction and he mouthed a ‘be careful’ before the pair separated, each disappearing into the shadows.
On expert feet and graceful limbs, Y/N glided through the brush without a peep. Frankly, she could've done it just as ably with her eyes closed. Occupying the position dictated by her father just a few moments prior, she awaited further indication. Whether it be a call from her mother, mistaken to be merely an animal cry by the intruders, or another subtle hint from her father, she held out for either.
“Y/N, do you read?” Her father's voice fuzzed through her earpiece. She remained crouched behind the bushes, her eyes glued to the figures upfront of which she counted six, and toggled her throat mic with a jab of her finger.
“I read you, Father.”
“Good, prepare to engage. Your mother will provide us cover fire from the trees; I'll take their flank. Copy?”
Y/N raised her sights to the treeline above, meeting Neytiri’s gaze who sent her daughter a reassuring nod. Worry was present in her mother’s face, and Y/N could sense her concern from where she hid on lower ground. Returning the notion with a jut of her head, she mirrored Neytiri’s stance and readied her own bow and arrow.
“Copy.” She confirmed, unsure of her father’s exact whereabouts, but she knew he was nearby. She could smell his intoxicating paternal need to rescue his babies. It reeked of a wrath unfathomable — still a rather mild aroma in comparison to the one her mother was emitting. The space between a mother and her children is a dangerous place. No man's land, so to speak.
Breathing steadily, her frame rigid as though she was walking a tightrope across The Hallelujah Mountains, she pulled her drawstring taut until it stretched to her ear. Her mother did the same from her higher post, arrow pointed at Kiri and Spider’s captor while Y/N aimed for the bitch who held little Tuk in a grasp tighter than an iron vice.
“Engage.” Jake’s voice rang into the ears of both his wife and daughter, and the former obliged first, firing her arrow snugly between the eyes of the man who held Kiri and Spider at gunpoint.
“Contact made!” Bellowed one of the figures, significantly taller than the rest. He shoved Spider and Kiri behind him, opening fire upon Neytiri who narrowly dodged his downpour of bullets as she ducked away.
“Shit.” Y/N cussed. The woman she’d lined her shot up with had subsequently sought out cover, leaving Tuk out in the open while Lo’ak chomped down on the forearm of his captor. Y/N let out a sharp, high-pitched whistle as though beckoning a dog, and Tuk’s frightened eyes snapped to hers.
“Y/N!”
“Za’u, tsmuke!” [Come, sister!] Y/N called, emerging from her locale of low visibility, now vulnerable and exposed. Tuk ran for her, naive relief plastering her adorable face. Meeting the eight-year-old midway, Y/N guided her sister behind her and drew her bow back once more, releasing a handcrafted bolt into the chest of an oncoming soldier who had raised his firearm at them. Tuk clung to the woven belt of Y/N’s loincloth, large eyes of amber gawking around at what was unfolding.
“Sis!” Lo’ak summoned, waving frantically. “C’mon, c’mon!” Y/N glanced over at him, then back over her shoulder. She noted a fair few of their enemies still standing unscathed. She hauled Tuk into the bushes, kneeling so she was at the small girl’s eye line. “When I say run to our brother, you run. Okay?”
Tuk didn't seem convinced, unwanting to leave the safety of her older sister’s side. “Tuktirey, answer me.” Y/N gently shook her by her shoulders, desiring a prompt response. “Okay.” Tuk eventually agreed, tears brimming at the thought of being alone if even for a millisecond.
Y/N caught Lo’ak’s eye who looked utterly bewildered at her procrastination, and held up one of her three fingers at him, motioning for him to bear with her. Turning back to her sister, a pair of large hands enveloped the child’s torso within them, snatching her quicker than a hiccup.
Tuk let out a terrified scream as her hands outstretched toward Y/N who snarled, the sudden occurrence happening faster than a flirtatious wink. The trooper’s hairline receded so far back that from Y/N’s angle, he appeared bald. The revelation pleased her.
She could effectively scalp him, after all.
With a volatile growl, Y/N launched herself at him and unsheathed her blade from her thigh, slicing it across his face. He stumbled with a grunt, hands gravitating to his face as blood spewed between the cracks of his fingers. He had five digits on each hand, she noticed. Verifying her suspicion that these Na’vi weren't native.
Lifting Tuk who had been cast from the man’s arms heeding Y/N’s attack, she walked the child toward a secluded spot amongst some fallen trees. Charging for the son of a bitch who dared to lay a fingertip on the small girl, Y/N drove her foot into his lower abdomen, plowing him to his knees. He groaned, finally looking up at the young woman through the gaps in his maroon-stained fingers.
“That's right.” She hissed. “Look at me while I kill you.” With that, she gripped the crown of his head, scaling it with the paper-thin edge of her dagger. Ripping the skin from his skull with ease, she tore his black hair from its roots. He didn't have time to retaliate, however. Nor was he graced with time to even register his agony.
She didn't offer him the chance.
Because in one swift motion, she had slit him a second smile, the laceration across his throat bone-deep and stretching from ear to ear. His neck gaped at her, falling slack like his jaw as he gargled, sagging limply against her. Blood gushed from his arteries, and whatever else she’d slashed in the process.
She didn't care. He was dead.
“Kalweyaveng.” [Son of a bitch.] She spat, face etched into such enraged contortion, you’d think she was in pain. Like she’d been scalped or had her throat severed, or something. She swivelled on the balls of her feet, breathing raggedly until her eyes fell on Tuk who was cowering where she’d left her.
Y/N’s face fell with the realization that the poor thing had witnessed the entire ordeal. “Tuk, Tuk, Tuk.” She cooed, grabbing the girl’s hand. Lo’ak, who had also been subjected to his sister’s infuriated brutality, finally joined them.
“Go! Get her the hell out of here,” Y/N ordered, passing Tuk to him. “And take this.” She equipped him with her bow and quiver having observed his own had been seized. Besides, she’d proven well enough that she could handle herself with just her knife alone. Lo’ak nodded, shoulders hunched and dish-wide eyes frantically scanning as gunfire continued to pop.
“Where’s mom and dad?” He then queried, hugging Tuk to his front as she looked up at Y/N like she no longer recognized her. “Not sure. Last I saw, Mother was up there,” Y/N informed him, pointing to the branch she last saw Neytiri perched atop. “Now, go!” She seethed, shoving them in the direction that she knew their father had gone in when he initiated their incursion.
“Is that you, Mrs Sully?!” A deep, distant voice demanded. Y/N frowned, ears perking as she sniffed out his scent in an attempt to determine from where the question arose. “I recognized your calling card!” He spoke again, drawl laced with foreign inflection. She'd heard that accent before.
American, like her father.
So, they were acquainted?
Y/N pressed on, his odor growing stronger as she neared. He smelled unfamiliar. Alien. He certainly wasn't pure Na’vi, that she knew as much. The snapping of twigs and rustling of leaves to her side activated her fight or flight mode, to which she chose the second. Springing upright, Y/N expected to be greeted by another nine-foot-something tall motherfucker in ghastly camo attire. She was mistaken, though. Instead, Spider’s very much not blue face stared back at her, his Adam’s apple bobbing beneath the tip of her blade as she dug it into his throat.
She retracted it immediately once acknowledging her uninvited company to be none other than her dearest friend, and tugged him down so he was out of harm’s way. Or at least, its sight. “Hey.” He whispered, his breath fogging the screen of his mask. “Shh.” Y/N silenced, round eyes surveying the expanse of their erupted chaos. “Quite the rescue party.” He conversed anyway, this time in their preferred tongue. She glared at him, her usually full lips pursed into a thin line.
He got the message, then.
The pair sat in silence as Y/N lingered in their place of hiding, wondering if the voice would make itself known again. She hoped it would. “You an’ yer Corporal have been pretty busy...” Ah, there it was. Y/N smirked, vigilant hearing able to pinpoint where he was. Spider’s brow furrowed as he watched her. He could usually read her well having known her his whole life, but this time he wasn't sure he could make an accurate prediction.
“You've gotten yerselves a whole litter of half-breeds.” The man continued, and his use of the phrase ‘half-breed’ made Y/N’s blood simmer. “Y/N? Y/N, do you copy?” Jake’s anxious tone conveyed through her earpiece, clearly uneasy as to why she hadn't checked in. “Yes, sir.” She replied, unintentionally bitter, and her father’s silence implied he sensed her anger. Her earpiece crackled as he tuned in again, but a barely audible “Shit!” was heard from his end before the interference of radio static buzzed through.
Y/N’s face dropped, her and Spider’s heads both snapping in the direction of an explosive projectile as it was launched. Jake tackled Neteyam to the ground in what seemed to be the nick of it, which explained the disturbance over the intercom a few seconds before. Y/N scowled, reaching for her bow so she could shoot the fucker who continued to spray ammunition at her father and brother, only to berate herself once remembering Lo’ak had it.
“Demon!” Her mother suddenly screeched from the tree’s canopy. “I will kill you as many times as I have to!” She sneered. Now, if Y/N knew her mother — which she did — she was willing to bet that it was taking Neytiri’s every ounce of self-control to not leap from her cover and drain this man of every micro-droplet of blood.
Hell, she’d probably suck every pint of him through a straw made of his comrades’ foreskin. Not a bad idea, Y/N mused.
Y/N curled her fingers into the crevice of Spider’s arm, heaving him to his feet. Despite being raised alongside the Sully children, the Na’vi strength never ceased to amaze him. Spider wasn't short from a human perspective. He was the same height as a fully grown man, yet Y/N was able to lug him around like he was a mere sack of feathers. “Go, find Lo’ak.” She told him, situating herself so she could clamber the tree they’d previously huddled behind. “He went that way.”
He dawdled, hesitant to leave her. “You sure?” She huffed at his expense, tempted to yank his mask from his face as she began her ascent. “Skxawng, go! Now!” He fumbled, almost stumbling over his own feet at her tone. “Shit, alright alright!” Mumbling under her breath, she caught hold of a robust vine, praying to Eywa she wouldn't tumble to her death. How embarrassing that would be? “Sa'nu?” [Mama?] She spoke into her throat mic, voice hushed as she looked over at the neighboring trees, hoping to catch a glimpse of the woman.
“Ma-Y/n. Here, my child.” Y/N’s eyes flitted slightly above to where her mother crooked a finger in her direction. “Fäza’u!” [Come!]. Y/N grasped the dangling vine and braced her feet flat against the trunk she’d climbed, forcing herself into a powerful swing with just enough momentum to join her mother in the opposite tree. Neytiri’s hands immediately cradled Y/N’s face as she inspected her daughter for any cuts and scrapes.
“Sa’nok, I am fine.” Y/N ensured her, swatting her mother’s hands down. Neytiri kissed her teeth, dragging the girl at her side as they made for a speedy exit. Their footing was soon lost, however, when a multitude of bullets ricocheted where they stood just seconds before. “Vrrtep!” [Demon!] Neytiri barked, pushing Y/N ahead of her as they fled.
“Mom! Y/N!” Kiri had been knelt in the tree’s foliage, peering over the edge. “It's Spider! He's down there!” Y/N’s heart lurched into her mouth, and she skidded to a halt at her sister's words, bulging eyes watching as what remained of the combatants scouted the area. “Kiri, come!” Neytiri tried to tug her daughters along, seemingly unbothered that the boy was in danger, or worse.
Dead.
Before her mother could stop her, Y/N dropped down, slender body bouncing off the rocky cliffside that Spider had supposedly plummeted from. “KEHE!” [NO!] Neytiti shrieked, voice breaking like a plate at a Greek dinner party. “Y/N!” Kiri cried out to her, she and their mother gaping on in horror as Y/N’s body crunched against the jagged surface all the way to the forest floor.
Crashing to the ground with an almighty thud, she swore she felt a rib or two crack on impact. She'd completely misjudged that jump... and then some. She could still hear the distant yells of her mother and sister, but her ears were ringing and her head spinning. She felt like she was floating away, her temples throbbing and eyelids drooping.
Rolling her head to the side, her eyes landed upon Spider — face-down in the dirt and motionless. Y/N felt an overwhelming dread begin to settle in the pit of her stomach as she panicked, but when she tried to shuffle toward him, she was hit with a tsunami of pain. Hell, she felt like she’d been belly-flopped on by a Tulkun. She gritted her teeth, jaws clenched and nostrils flared as every appendage tinged with a dull aching.
“Lyle, over here!”
The last thing Y/N was aware of before drifting into a coma-like state, was a familiar scent engulfing her senses. She peeled her eyes apart, revealing her yellow irises behind the narrow gap of their heavy lids. She had been bundled into a pair of muscular arms, each tendon rippling beneath her weight. She hadn't even felt herself be lifted — her battered body completely numbed by indescribable discomfort.
A pair of golden eyes stared back at her as her head lulled against their barrel chest. It was a beautiful sight, she thought. Though that could've been the head trauma talking.
The most likely conclusion to draw, she figured, before darkness consumed her.
Pairings: Neteyam x female oc / dilf!jake x female oc
Summary: Nya'ta loved Neteyam dearly. She had known him for most of her life. She quickly became a part of the Sully family. But things changed when Neytiri died and Jake needed Nya'ta's support more than he ever had before.
Warnings: angst, angst, and more angst; smut in later chapters; fluff; large age gap (19 and 39); character death; violence and blood; widowed Jake; hurt/comfort; falling in love; heartbreak
Chapter Five: Blood on my hands
Jake could feel his body tense when he woke up and saw someone next to him, but he relaxed when he realised who it was - Nya'ta. She was curled up against him, her tail around one of his thighs and her arm wrapped around his middle. They had spent a lot of time the past few days, making up for the days they had been ignoring each other - this was a first tho.
They had been together the night before. He was reading for her - to her. She couldn't, didn't know how, but she found it quite fascinating how he could make the words showing on the pages sound. They must have fallen asleep.
He allowed himself to stay there for a few moments longer - enjoying the warmth coming from her - he hadn't felt a woman beside him since Neytiri had died - and the fact that it was Nya'ta in that very moment almost made him purr.
He felt some kind of shame, because he knew he shouldn't think about her like that. She was with his son after all. So he told himself that it was all purely platonic before he woke her, "Hun," he whispered, "Wake up."
She stirred slightly, but didn’t wake, instead she just curled even tighter against him, seeking more of his embrace. He tried again, shaking her the tiniest bit while calling her name as quietly as he could as to not wake anybody else. It worked. Nya'ta groaned, her eyes squeezing shut tighter before she opened them slowly. She moved her hand up his chest, "What's wrong, baby?"
Jake's eyebrows shot up - higher than he thought they could - because did she really just call him baby? When Nya'ta didn't get an answer, she looked up at the person beside her and her eyes went wide when she realised who it was. Definitely not Neteyam.
A startled scream left her mouth before she jumped away from him. And Jake already missed the closeness of her against him. The loud noise woke up the other family members and it made Jake groan with some kind of annoyance.
"What's wrong?" Neteyam asked, his voice still groggy from sleep and he could barely keep his eyes open.
Nya'ta shook her head, "What the fuck?" She narrowed her eyes at Jake, clearly not happy with him, "Why the fuck?" She grumbled.
He held his hands up in surrender, "You fell asleep that way," he laid himself back, making himself comfortable again, "I was just as shocked as you when I woke up."
Nya'ta shook her head again before she looked at the children. Tuk was fast asleep again. Kiri had a small smile on her face - almost looking like a smirk. Lo'ak looked mostly confused, his eyes darting between Nya'ta and his father. Nya'ta hesitated for a moment before she looked at Neteyam and she almost regretted it once she did. He knew what had happened and the look of hurt on his face caused her more pain than him. At least, that's what she thought.
"Neteyam.." she whispered, but he didn't let her talk, instead he held up is hand, telling her to be quiet, before leaving the hut - his tail between his legs.
And Nya'ta felt the need to cry. And it made her hate herself, because she had been crying enough the past few weeks. Still, she couldn't seem to stop her eyes from tearing up. Jake noticed and he just wished he could take away any negative feeling that she held in her heart.
"Go back to sleep," he ordered is kids and the tone he used made them do exactly what he said, not daring to disobey.
He looked at the girl in front of him, "You wanna come back to bed?"
Nya'ta shook her head, standing up slowly, "I'd rather lay alone," she told him in a quiet voice, turning her back on him and walking away.
And it hurt him. He understood and he shouldn't even get involved with her in that way, but he didn't mean for it to happen. Didn't mean to let her and himself fall asleep next to each other - didn't mean to hurt her, his son or himself. He released a long breath, now looking at the ceiling, and he told himself that this would be the first and last time that something like this happened.
A few hours later, the kids and Nya'ta were walking together far away from the others, "Where the hell are you taking us, Lo'ak?" Nya'ta groaned. He rolled his eyes, his hair swinging as he turned around, "Have patience, my god, I just want to show you something."
Nya'ta crossed her arms, "And why did you bring Tuk? It's dangerous out here!" Her eyes narrowed.
"She would've snitched," he waved his arms around, "I will tell dad if you don't take me," he mimicked his sisters voice to which she showed him her tongue.
"So you didn't even tell him?" Nya'ta raised her eyebrows at the young boy, "He will skin us if he finds out, Lo'ak."
He just smiled, "He won't," and with that, he continued walking. Nya'ta stared at the spot he just stood for a few seconds before uncrossing her arms, shaking her head, and following him and his sibling. She wanted to get this over with as soon as possible so that Jake wouldn't even be able to catch them. She really wasn't interested in arguing with him just after they managed to overcome their past difficulties.
They continued walking for a few more minutes before Lo'ak’s steps came to an abrupt halt - his arms lifting to keep everyone behind him and mumbling a quiet 'shh'.
Nya'ta almost crashed into him at his sudden stop, stumbling a little bit, "What the-"
She didn't get to finish her sentence as the young boy turned around halfway, a stern look crossing is face, and telling her to keep quiet a second time. He kneeled down as slowly as he could, crawling just the tiniest bit closer to what he was watching. Nya'ta followed his actions, pushing Tuk by her shoulder as well, before she finally allowed herself to get a look, too, peeking over Lo'ak's shoulder. And her jaw dropped open when she saw three men standing there. They clearly weren't one of them - they were wearing clothes only sky people could own - and they were holding big, black guns in their hands, talking to each other.
"Lo'ak," Nya'ta whispered, "Tell your father."
His eyes grew wide and he quickly shook his head, denying her request as soon as it left her lips. He wasn't gonna give his father another reason to scold him - tell him what kind of a disappointment he was - when they could just sneak away and never tell anyone about it. Nya'ta persisted, "You have to," she whispered harshly, "If something will happen to us, he has to know where we are - what we saw-"
Again, Nya'ta was interrupted, but this time not because of Lo'ak but because of someone standing in front of her. And when she dared to look up at him from her kneeling position, she could almost feel herself shiver at his hateful stare, "Hey! Over here!" He yelled to another man. Nya'ta cursed when all of them had noticed them, grabbing the younger Na'vi by their arms and hair to drag them along - as if they were some kind of animals. And Lo'ak didn't even get a chance to acutally communicate with his father, so no one knew that the were even out there - no one could come and help them.
Nya'ta looked around, seeing her friends on the ground just like her, and she could've sworn she felt her heart crumble at Tuk's scared cries and Lo'ak's helpless face. Nya'ta tried to think of a way to get them out of that sticky situation, she was the oldest one, so it was her job to bring everybody home safely. She regretted coming out here in the first place - should've been smarter and talked to Jake before following Lo'ak, but to her defense; she really thought Lo'ak had talked to his father about this.
"Boss' gon' like this," one of the three men spoke up, smirking almost develishly at the kids, "Let's bring 'em back t' him."
Nya'ta slowly inched one of her hands towards her loincloth where she had tucked a small knife away - she always had some kind of weapon with her, just in case something like this would happen. She pulled it out just as slowly, hiding it behind her back until an opportunity to use it appeared.
"Show me yer fingers," the man standing in front of Lo'ak said, nodding his head in his direction. Lo'ak hesitated for a split second before he slowly lifted both of his hands, showing the man his middle fingers. It made Nya'ta snicker quietly and she quickly covered it up with a little cough.
The man chuckled meanly, "Yeah, he's definitely one of 'em. He's five fingers. Let's bring 'em t' him," he repeated earlier words.
And Nya'ta used all the braveness she could muster up when none of the men were looking, revealing her knife and practically sprinting towards them. She plunged the silver blade through the first skull she could reach, using the dead body as a shield as she attacked the second one, her knife splitting his throat in two with ease. She could feel her hear beating rapidly and it almost made her think the organ would burst through her chest. She was scared - so scared - but she tried to ignore her fear as much as possible. She had to get the kids home safely - even if that meant she had to risk her life - wasn't like there was much keeping her alive anyway. The last man standing was suddenly pulled back by his neck and when Nya'ta looked where he was now lying, she saw Lo'ak hovering above that guy, his chest heaving up and down in fast motions. She pushed her already shiny, red blade into his forehead, so she could make sure he was actually dead.
Nya'ta breathed heavily as she tried to calm her racing heart and mind. Her hand was shaking slightly as she wiped the blade on the guys shirt before she tucked it back into her loincloth and Nya'ta only hoped that nobody would miss them - that nobody would look for them.
"Everyone okay?" Nya'ta asked, looking at both of her friends. Lo'ak nodded silently while Tuk didn't really react at all and Nya'ta could feel the guilt creep up inside her at the sight of the little girl. Her cries were filling the otherwise silent air and she looked absolutely terrified at the scene she had to witness. Nya'ta walked over with small steps, kneeling down in front of the child, opening her arms and inviting her into her warm embrace. And Tuk almost caused Nya'ta to fall over with the sheer force of her small body crashing into the taller one.
And Nya'ta allowed the little girl to calm down and regain her normal, slower breathing before she pulled away, stroking Tuk's hair softly, "You listening?"
She nodded, one arm lifting to wipe her now running nose and Nya'ta rubbed her thumbs over the girls cheeks, making her tears disappear, "I'm sorry you had to see this. But everything will be fine again, okay? Just let me get you back-" Nya'ta stopped herself from saying the word 'home' because that's not what it was - it would never be - so she mentioned Jake instead. And Tuk nodded eagerly, because all she wanted right now was to be held by her father.
So Nya'ta scooped Tuk up into her arms before she looked at Lo'ak, signaling him to come and leave the now lifeless bodies behind. Somebody else would take care of it later. They started walking towards the village, only stopping shortly to wash their skin in a nearby lake.
The three of them walked straight into their hut as soon as they reached the village and Jake was already sitting there, sharpening his knife with a stone. He looked up when he heard someone enter and smiled when he saw his loved ones, "Hey, haven't seen you since morning," he continued his actions while talking and Nya'ta put Tuk down as she prepared to answer him - tell him what had happened - but she would definitely leave the part out where Lo'ak brought them out there, so they could avoid his scolding.
"Yeah," she trailed off, giving Lo'ak a pointed look, telling him to grab whatever he needed and take Tuk somewhere else. He nodded, understanding the meaning in her eyes, grabbing his stuff before taking Tuk's hand and leaving the hut only a few minutes after they came. She turned her eyes back to the man sitting in front of her, "There's something I have to tell you - it's really important."
Jake looked at her, his eyes turning serious at her words, and he put his knife down to fully concentrate on the upcoming conversation, "What is it?"
She sat down next to him and folded her hands in her lap, "So," she began, "I saw those men today - kinda further away from here," she continued and she could already see Jake's eyebrows furrowing - almost as if he knew what was coming and what she was going to say, "They were wearing sky people clothes and had-" she didn't get to finish her sentence as Jake stood up, his frame towering over her.
"What?" He asked even tho he had heard her completely fine, but he hoped - hoped so bad - that he mistook her words or that he was dreaming and that this conversation was not happening in this moment, but he knew it was real and it made his insides curl up in horror. He wanted safety for himself, his kids and for her - he was ready to leave home in order to keep them safe - and hearing that it didn't help much - that his pursuers were already hot on his heels - made him want to vomit.
Nya'ta nodded softly, "They won't be a threat anymore," she told him, "I took care of them. Now we just have to hope that their friends won't come and look for them.
Jake let out a long and deep breath, his lips pursing with anger and worry, but he nodded nevertheless, mumbling a quiet 'okay', and it sounded as if he really couldn't believe it. He kneeled down again, taking her folded hands in his own and stroking them softly with his thumbs, "Are you okay? Did they do anything? And were you alone?"
She smiled warmly at the softness he showed her even if he was feeling rage in the current moment, "Yes, I'm okay. And Tuk was with me, but she's okay as well, really," she purposely didn't tell him about Lo'ak, but still, she could see him tense even more at the mention of his youngest daughter. She didn't really feel like talking about her feelings either, so telling him everything was okay was the easiest option. She wouldn't tell him how hard it was to take someones life. It was her first kill today and she doesn't think she will ever be able to forget the feel of fresh blood on her skin.
Jake promised her that he would be the one to tell Kiri, Neteyam and Lo'ak about the little incident before he left her alone for a bit. He didn't want to leave her - really didn't - but she begged him to spare her some alone time, because she desperately needed it. So he agreed with a curt nod, kissing her forehead real quick, before leaving her be. He would make sure to find his kids as soon as possible and then Tonowari, because he needed to know what he should do now.
Once Nya'ta was alone, she allowed herself to cry once more, and she could only wish she would wake up soon, so this nightmare would end.
Pairing: stalker!neteyam sully x female!dreamwalker!reader/female!human!reader
CW: lots of angst, jealousy is not even the right word to describe neteyam's state anymore, emotionally hurt neteyam, reader has a hard time trying to fight her feelings for neteyam, mentions of using someone with the intention of forgetting someone else, mild violence, mentions of sexual fluids, possessive and territorial neteyam, mentions of depressive symptoms, use of alcohol, feelings of fear, tension, confessions of love, fluff. I think that's all (??)
✨ IM BACK ✨ I can't even believe I managed to finally update this fanfic! 😂 All of a sudden I spent days on end being a 24/7 nurse for my spayed kitten and didn't have time for anything + having to give her 2 different pills at 2 different times, all during the am hours, plus another one in the morning, left me SOOO sleep deprived. It was horrible. Thank God she doesn't have to take the pills anymore. ANYWAY lol Guys, in the beginning of the chapter until the middle of it, I think, I know you guys are gonna want to murder me or reader or both (you know that y/n meme with the pic of the blonde girl "choking" her own shadow in the wall, saying like "babe this is not us" or smth? so… pretty much that! lol) BUT I PROMISE it's gonna be really good in the end 🥲 trust me, please 🥺 it's the moment most of us (yes, me included!) have been waiting for! 💕 Also, this is a longer chapter, compared to the usual. Maybe a compensation for my absence? Idk! lol I just hope you guys like it! haha OKAY if I say anything else, it'll be a spoiler lol love y'all to death!!! my readers are my babies, my lil angels… I truly freaking love you guys so much!!! 🫀⚘
Not proofread.
Chapter 5
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷
I can see you standing, honey, with his arms around your body
Laughin', but the joke's not funny at all
(...)
I can see you staring, honey, like he's just your understudy
Like you'd get your knuckles bloody for me
Second, third, and hundredth chances
Balancin' on breaking branches
Those eyes add insult to injury
exile (Taylor Swift, Bon Iver)
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷
The air was thick and chaotic at the Olo'eyktan's hut that morning. Everyone seemed to be a bit too restless, either getting ready to go show up to their duties to the clan, like Neytiri, or thinking about some personal struggle, like Kiri, who was lost in thought, looking a bit sad. But she was also mixing some herbs and flowers, preparing a thick, violet colored substance that was used to treat wounds, that she would later give to Neytiri. Kiri would always help Neytiri a lot, assisting her in her Tsahìk position in the Omatikaya clan.
But Neteyam still stood out among the whole family. He was unmistakably grumpy that morning, Lo’ak noticed, as he was - once again - watching the weird way his older brother was behaving. Neteyam was not being his usual calm and caring self. He was not trying to take care of everyone, not giving out smiles and trying to cheer his siblings up. He was even distracted when Jake was giving him instructions about how today's training would go and giving him other orders, like telling him to keep an eye on Tuk whenever he's able to, as she was growing and becoming even smarter, more energetic and mischievous and was starting to get into more trouble, sometimes even picking fights with other girls in the clan, becoming a bit too much like Lo'ak, which had been making Jake rub the sides of his forehead in worry lately, way more often than he liked to admit.
"The Mighty Warrior, distracted when dad is telling him what to do?! What the fuck is happening?!" Lo'ak thought. Something was very wrong. And Lo’ak was determined to find out what it was.
Neteyam sat with his legs slightly open, his hands were crossed, his elbows resting on his knees. He had a lost stare in his eyes, gazing at the nothingness, looking like he was mad at someone who had just maybe punched him in the face.
He did not know how to deal with it all, that turmoil of emotions you were causing inside him felt overwhelming to the Sullys first born. He had taken on just so many challenges throughout his life and conquered most of them, but he feared you were gonna be a war that he might lose. He had to admit it bruised his ego. Suddenly, he did not feel like such a Mighty Warrior after all. An adversary that most people would judge as a weak one compared to him, a mere human girl, so small in comparison to his size, was defeating him. Suddenly all his skills with bows, arrows, big knives and even big, intimidating shotguns were not enough.
And Neteyam felt lost. He did not know what to do. For the first time in his life, his rational and smart brain could not seem to produce a war strategy that could help him win. Win you. He felt just like a wounded warrior, bleeding on the floor.
༊⁀➷
You decided to finally answer Derek’s messages today, after ghosting him for a while. You were feeling weird and lonely. And shaken. God, still so shaken... What the hell happened last night? Did that really happen? Was it all just a dream? You could swear those words Neteyam Suli had given you, about how he was in love with you, that his hauntingly tall and broad figure, vulnerable, kneeling on the ground in front of you, telling you he could tell you desired him too, had all been just part of a weird, eerie, anxious, borderline wet dream.
You knew very well what you were doing to Derek. You were using him to forget about the mess Neteyam was making of you. You knew that was wrong and you did feel guilty and ashamed. But you also knew you had to step back into your old reality, into that familiar world, into your comfort zone, a place where there were only regular human guys interested in you, not that current unsettling reality you were living in - you could still swear it had all just been a dream. or a nightmare, perhaps. you were not sure -, where there was an almost 10 feet tall alien boy pursuing you, declaring his love and his nearly inappropriate desire for you, talking about the intimate parts of your body in a way that made you uncomfortable, anxious but... that lured you in too, at the same time. You needed an escape from it all. Your already disturbed mind did not seem able to deal with those facts at that moment and Derek seemed like the perfect distraction.
Damn, what had you become? That was not ethical or moral at all - using a human being like a tool to distract you from your conflicting emotions - but you did not seem to be capable of caring too much about being ethical or moral at that time. Your whole perception of the world seemed to be changing. You felt bedazzled and unsteady. You did not want to admit to yourself that you were starting to feel too much for Neteyam, that you were running away from your feelings like a thief runs away with an expensive item he just robbed. No, you were not in love with him. How could that even be? Everybody knew the na’vi don’t get romantically involved with humans. Your races were more like enemies than buddies. There were only a few humans who were loyal to the na'vi and maintained a somewhat close relationship with them, but never a romantic one. What was making you and Neteyam feel like that for each other? That could only bring problems and you sure as hell did not want more trouble in your already complicated life.
You would be better off sticking to a human male instead. It was safe and familiar. It did not make your anxiety skyrocket. But it also did not excite you a single bit. Derek caused you nothing. You could barely even feel actually turned on when he touched your body and kissed your lips. It was just like he was a habit you had gotten used to, making out with him here and there, to numb the pain you felt inside your heart almost all the time. His biggest efforts to make you wet never seemed to work. Meanwhile, Neteyam got you wet without having ever touched you. That sure spoke loud enough.
So why were you rejecting Neteyam and going after Derek?
Maybe you felt too afraid to take a risk, to follow your heart. God knows following that damn reddish muscular organ had put you in the worst situations possible in the past. You felt numb but you felt safe. And safe felt good. Bearable, at least. You were afraid if you gave into what you felt for Neteyam you just might explode. The feelings were that strong. You did not know what to do to try and ignore that tiny but extremely annoying creature inside your brain that would always be whispering “What if something actually good came out of it? Take a risk. For once in your life, don’t play it safe.”
But you were choosing to play it safe, anyway. At least this afternoon. You were gonna meet Derek, after two weeks without doing so, and just hang out, eat junk food, drink some alcohol and talk about non important things, just laugh and be silly, like you two always used to do. He was a good friend. Too bad he never made any type of fire light up inside of you, not even in the very beginning of your rendezvous, that’s why you never got to have sex with him. You were simply not interested. At all, to be honest. You wondered why you still insisted on being physically intimate with him. There were many things in your life that you did and did not really think too much about. They were just pure routine, they just kinda happened and you let them, almost like you weren't really living your life, but only a mere spectator to the events that were happening to you. And it seemed like you felt too emotionally numb to put an end to them. Your involvement with Derek was one of those things. He started to flirt with you one day, you were bored and you thought "why not?" and now, months later, you were still caught in this situation. If anyone asked you if there was any other reason why you were gonna see Derek today other than to try and get Neteyam out of your mind, you honestly couldn't say there was. It was crystal clear to you that, even though you were fighting like crazy to deny your feelings for Neteyam, you were indeed falling for him.
But how could that be? Last week, he was only an Omatikaya famous warrior - and, oh, let's not forget, the next Olo'eyktan of their clan - that you had only heard people talk about.
༊⁀➷
Neteyam was up in one of the highest tree branches he could find that day. He did not want anybody to see him, as usual, but he also did not want you to know he was watching you, either. He knew you were now aware of his constant presence around you. He knew you were not oblivious to his love anymore.
The sun was harassing his eyes, so he put his hand over them and squinted hard to try and see if the guy next to you, in the laboratory’s cafeteria, was really who he thought it was. When his eyes could get a better view, once the sun was not bothering them so much anymore, he felt something sinking in his stomach and his heartbeat accelerated considerably.
He had just confirmed who the guy was. It was that disgusting little human male that liked to act like you were his mate. Neteyam hissed ferociously, his protruding na’vi fangs looking scarier than ever, as his wide feline eyes watched Derek leaning close to your face and kissing your lips. Neteyam wanted to die - or maybe kill Derek - when he noticed you kissed him back.
༊⁀➷
You forced a smile while looking at Derek, after you had the initiative to break that damn kiss who seemed to never end. He seemed satisfied with the fact that you two had just kissed, contrary to what you were feeling. You honestly felt like you wanted to throw up. All you could think about was how it would feel to kiss Neteyam, to smell his scent again, that was so abundantly different from what you were used to, but that fact only seemed to make you want him even more.
You looked away to try and forget the ridiculous mistake you were making by being with Derek at that moment. You were looking at the ground and your gaze moved upwards. Now your eyes were directed towards the outside of the lab. What you saw startled you beyond reason. Neteyam was squatting, up in the branches of a huge tree, not too close but not too far from the part of the laboratory you and Derek were currently in. His fangs were out, seeming bigger than ever, as he hissed ferociously. Neteyam's animalistic side had completely taken over him and you could tell.
A chill ran down your spine. You could feel in your guts something bad was about to happen.
Your heart throbbed in pain as you saw how hurt he was now that he had seen you kissing Derek, even after he - Neteyam - had confessed his feelings for you in such a vulnerable way last eclipse. You saw in his eyes how betrayed he felt, like you were just silently telling him that his love did not matter at all to you and you'd rather be with any other guy but him.
༊⁀➷
"Hey, I'm going outside for a while, 'kay?" Derek spoke as he got up from the place he had been sitting, beside you, kissing your cheek "The boys are gonna meet me behind the lab in a while. "
Oh, no. Derek would not be safe if he went outside. Not with Neteyam spilling hate for him out of his soul like that. You had to try and find a way to keep Derek inside.
"Oh." You said, not being able to conceal your nervousness "Why don't you wait for them to actually get there before you go?!" You almost begged, visibly tense
"God, you seem nervous." He chuckled slightly, seeming uncomfortable " Is everything alright?"
"Yeah! I just want you to spend some more time with me." You pouted at him, coming up with an excuse to try and keep Derek from going out of the lab
"Sorry, sugar. It was nice hanging out and stuff but I really need to go now." He was already walking fast towards the door before you could try and talk him out of that stupid idea
You couldn't let any of the people in that cafeteria know something was up, so, you pretended everything was alright and finished eating your chips and took the last sip of your canned whisky and coke and stood up, walking slowly (when you actually wanted to freaking run) in the direction of the lab's metal door that led to outside.
You put your oxygen mask on, took a deep breath and walked out the door.
You heard a noise, it was like a really heavy object falling to the floor. You also heard some strong thuds.
When you started to walk around to try and see what was happening, you realized your fear had become reality. Neteyam was sitting on top of Derek’s squirming body, his toned, striped thighs straddling Derek’s torax. You gasped when you realized Derek was no longer wearing his oxygen mask and Neteyam's huge hand was over Derek's mouth, preventing him from screaming for help. Neteyam looked at him like a hunter looks at their prey, while his big fangs and loud hisses put fear in the human boy's eyes. Derek was completely terrified.
Your heart beat sped up insanely and your hands were now cold as ice. You were afraid for Derek’s life.
You knew that the way Neteyam was taking out his frustration and jealousy on Derek was indescribably far from okay but still, as cruel to Derek as it seemed, you still felt incredibly sorry for the Omatikaya in front of you.
At the end of the day, you had a big percentage of blame for what he was doing right now. You were confused and afraid and torn but you knew to whom your heart belonged and it was not Derek. So why the hell were you being so selfish to the point of hurting two boys at the same time just because you didn't know how to deal with your own feelings? You realized it was time for you to stop being a coward and put an end to that madness.
You could tell Neteyam was not okay mentally and you knew that you were being toxic too, that you were contributing for his mental state to get worse with your indecisiveness and fear, despite his efforts to show you he would never hurt you. You wanted to stop hurting him and help him instead, to finally let go and admit to yourself and to him that yes, despite the way you had been acting, you were in love with him too.
"Neteyam, don't!! Let him go, please!!" You shouted, running towards the human and the na'vi boy.
You finally got close to Neteyam. He stopped and looked at you, his eyes so fiery, the calm golden pools they always used to be were now boiling with feelings of anger, jealousy, hurt and betrayal.
"For me! Please?" You pleaded him, looking deep into his eyes while stroking his strong blue arm
You watched that beast inside of Neteyam slowly calm down, as his feline ears pointed downwards and his eyes became softer. He moved his hand away from Derek’s mouth and the human boy let out a series of labored breaths. Neteyam slowly got off of him, revealing his beyond intimidating height as he stood up, and stepped away from him.
You walked as fast as you could to where Derek's oxygen mask was laying on the floor and picked it up, checking if was broken (it wasn't! Thank you, Universe.) and went back to where he was lying down and gave it back to him.
Neteyam watched your movements and felt jealous when you got close to Derek, so, once you got back to the place where you were standing before, Neteyam stood right next to your arm. His instincts told him to mark his territory.
Derek swiftly put it back on. He was almost completely out of breath. Derek breathed in deep once the mask was covering his face, taking in all the oxygen he possibly could.
"Are you okay?" You looked down at Derek’s body, searching for any visible wounds. There were none, at best. "God, I'm so sorry about this…"
"Yeah, I'm fine, somehow." Derek seemed afraid, shocked, frustrated and angry, all simultaneously, as he got off the floor and got back on his feet
"Please, don't tell anyone that you saw Neteyam or that he tried to hurt you, okay?"
"What the fuck?!! This psycho almost tried to kill me!! Why are you defending him?!"
Neteyam hissed at him when he heard what he had just called him but you squeezed his arm and he looked at you, remembering your pleas were the thing that were keeping him from killing that small, pink male. Even though it hurt him deeply that you were protecting that human, he couldn't bring himself to ignore you when you were begging him not to hurt Derek. You had Neteyam in the palm of your hand.
"You don't understand! If you let anyone in that lab know what Neteyam did to you, the RDA will eventually know about it too! Do you understand how serious this is? Do you wanna see Neteyam dead?!" You urged him, looking deep into his eyes "You could even help start another war between the humans and the na'vi. Do you understand that it is a much bigger issue than it seems to be? Just forget about what happened and I'll make sure Neteyam won't ever try to hurt you again."
Derek smirked in contempt
"How can you be so sure he will listen to you?"
"I know he will! He loves me. And… I love him too."
Derek’s face had a big question mark all over it now and his mouth fell open.
Neteyam seemed to be shocked for a while. He did not expect you to say that, at all. He thought you would never love him back. Neteyam couldn't seem to believe those words had actually just come out of your mouth.
You breathed in deep, trying to stay calm amidst all that chaos "This thing between us…" You looked at Derek "It's over. I don't know why I was still insisting on it, I never even felt attracted to you, in the first place. I'm sorry."
"I'm outta here! All of this shit that's going on… feels like a fucking nightmare"
"Can you do as I said and not tell anyone about Neteyam? Nobody, ever? Please?!" You were nervous, brows furrowed, talking fast
"Okay!! Just let me go now! I think it's better if you and I keep some distance from each other from now on. I don't want your crazy na'vi boyfriend trying to kill me again."
Neteyam hissed at Derek again when he heard the word "crazy" and Derek rapidly looked at him, startled, but couldn't be brave enough to spend more than some seconds staring at him, so, he swiftly looked away
"Neteyam, please!! He's going already." You looked at Neteyam, a bit angry and impatient, asking him to calm down "Just go, Derek." You spit out and sighed, feeling physically and mentally drained after having to stop that stupid fight
Derek finally turned his back to you and Neteyam and left.
You looked at Neteyam. His eyes were glued on you. Those pretty amber eyes. His face wasn't full of hatred and anger anymore. His demeanor was much calmer now. His body language radiated love towards you. His tail was wagging softly. You felt pain and regret consuming your chest. How could you have treated Neteyam so badly last night? You realized now you couldn't hold him to the same standards you hold human males. The na'vi are animalistic beings, in spite of their high intelligence. And worse, how could you be irresponsible enough to kiss Derek even not actually wanting to, making Neteyam see it and get as hurt as he did? You sure were being trashy.
"My tawtute…" he cooed as he turned to look in your eyes "I won't let you run away from me anymore." Neteyam had a big smile on his lips "I don't care if you try to. That's all I needed to hear, that you love me. Now that you've said it, even if you didn't say it directly to me, I'm gonna fight for you even harder, even if you keep trying to push me away, I will keep bothering you." He kept smiling, blissful "You're like an Ikran. I just need to be patient with you. Eventually, I'll tame you and you'll be mine. All mine, hi'ì 'emyu." (small cook) "Bonded to me through tsaheylu. I can be patient and I will be."
You could only look at him, stare at his face and ask yourself why. Why was he willing to put so much work into making you his mate?
"I'm not gonna run away from you anymore." You finally said "I'm done running. I'm done keeping myself miserable and alone because I'm too afraid to trust you and let you in. While trying to keep myself "safe", I was hurting myself and hurting you. I'm not doing that anymore, Neteyam. I was so stupid… I can't really say what it is, but there's just something about you… I think about you all the time, since the first time I saw you when you appeared for me outside that window. I don't believe someone can fall in love so fast but…" You were about to burst into tears "I'm in love with you."
Neteyam looked at you with the biggest smile on his plump lips, while his heart beat uncommonly fast inside his chest. He was overwhelmed with joy but as he was seeing the tears welling up in your eyes, he felt like he was about to cry too. But he didn't. Having learned throughout his whole life to always act with self control and rationality in front of everyone, - not really by choice, but because he knew that was how the Olo'eyktan to be should act, to keep a good reputation, to let his people know he was strong enough to control his emotions and not let them get in the way of him making good decisions for the Omatikaya - his ability to show some aspects of his feelings was a bit impaired now and that included crying. Even though he almost cried in front of you when you rejected him, he couldn't bring himself to cry of joy, now that you were saying that you wanna be with him too.
"I'm sorry for… what you saw. Me and Derek. I never liked him, Neteyam. He was just-"
"Yawne, no." Neteyam interrupted " It's okay. I don't wanna hear about that human." He looked disgusted only by the thought of Derek "And I don’t want you thinking about him either. You're mine now. Just forget about him. It's me that you like, right?" He gave you a gentle smile now and you nodded your head positively "Then focus on me, yawntutsyìp."
You looked at him, shyly, and smiled
"So…Can I ask for a hug, now?" your heart beat fast inside your chest cavity as you nervously said that
"Oeyä tawtute…" (my human) "You don't even need to ask." He opened his big, strong arms as he spoke "Come here."
sum: Au where Spider doesn’t become friends with the sully kids, however, he becomes friends with another kid’s family, who treats him right.
Eywa did not like the future.
Being omnipotent meant that she could see and hear everything, and that meant the future too, she could see the future, she created the future, but it was the destiny to guide it. She could create it, not design it, she could only see the destiny do their work.
But she indeed doesn’t like the future ahead of the child she was watching. He was a baby, a newborn, still in his mother’s arms crying because he just came into the world his mother offered him.
His cheeks were white (thanks to the fluids, although there was a bit of blood, and anyway they were beginning to be red) and he had his eyes closed, when he would have open them, they will be blue or grey, kinda like Eywa’s other children in the est cost.
His skin was still covered in the birth blood and fluids, and he was curled to his mother firmly, an assistant tried to remove him, for the washing routine, but as soon as her hands were on this baby, he cried even more lauder. The must-be father of this child, rolled his eyes and made a sharky comment, and then got out of the birthing room.
As the mother of the child handed over her baby to the assistant, tears were scrolling down her face. Humans were different from na’vis, they could do the act of mating with every person they wanted, and although they united their souls for all eternity in a promise, many times they break it. That is why Eywa dropped humanity, leaving themselves to solve their own problems, as revenge they now came to her new children’s world.
The baby stopped his crying, and he now was returned to his mother, who gave him a horrible name, Eywa did not like the sound of it, the baby curling on his birthing mother reminded the great Mother of an earth insect, araneon.
Poor child, both his parents would have died in the following months, and his future was full of horrible moments, all thanks to another set of kids that weren’t even born yet, and a child who could not bring herself to watch behind the baby human skin.
But what could Eywa ever do? it was his destiny…
But…she is the great mother, she is Eywa! She can change his destiny!
The years flow, as always, he was now three years old, the humans give him the nickname Araneo but in English, he is such a beautiful baby, he gots blonde and curly hairs, brown eyes, and a contagious laughter. He could now run, and dance, and talk, and do so many things!
His adoptive parents weren’t the ones that were destined to be, Eywa might or might have not killed the both of them during the great war.
it wasn’t that much of a problem anyway, as the humans would have said, those two were “scum bags” or something like that.
Anyway, the couple who adopted him, was two very much nice womans, united to each other, they could not have a biological heir, and that was on Eywa, when she created humans, she didn’t do them intersex like na’vis. At the time she didn’t though it was the great idea it really was.
Oh well, anyway, the day that he was destined to meet Kiri, who would have then led him to her brothers, came.
Eywa had to get in the body of Abeni, one of the mothers of Spider.
it wasn’t complicated to spot him, he was playing ‘jumping’ in the hallway, not too far from the door.
As she picked him up, the door of the lab opened, Kiri was in Jake’s arms as he was coudicing her to Grace’s avatar body.
Luckily, Jake didn’t know Abeni, so he simply ignored her. Altrought Kiri did everything in her power to see her, she was Kiri, she knew who she was under Abeni’s body.
Eywa needed to be careful with Spider, only a glimpse of Kiri’s tail could sabotage her plan.
“Manga Spider, kem si nga new-” she tried to say whispering, the fact that she could only speak na’vi wasn’t a problem, all of her children could understand her, plus Spider knew a little of na’vi.
hey Spider, do you want-
“Yes, i want!” he said, even before she could finish her words, it was nap time so he would have accepted everything she would have said.
he was anyway trying to look behind Abeni’s shoulders, to look at Kiri, the destiny was doing this act, but Eywa was smarter, she could easily point him to the other way, there was no way he could turn his head all that way.
“who entered?” he asked with his tiny voice, but the mother was quick enough to enter, Abeni and jiā huì room.
The walls of the room were of a beige color, the only color on them were from Spider little drawings and scribbles.
The main bed was at the center of the room, a big comfortable bed designed for two adult humans. The covers were of a light yellow and the pillows were as white as clouds.
Next to it, at the first wall there was Spider crib, built with wood of the burden hometree of the Omatikaya clan. The covers were light yellow too and there was a pillow that was orange. All in the box, toys.
And a big yellow bear? With a red shirt. As soon as Spider saw it, he became fussy, wanting to be put into the crib.
Eywa placed him delicately on his tiny bed, and he immediately went to grab the toy, showing it to the mother.
“Winnie bo!” He said, handing it over to her, at the touch it was comfortable and his yellow fake fur was funny to look at, this was a funny bear.
Spider then pointed to the magic box that made imagines move, the name television.
“Winnie bo!” he repeats
You can’t disobey a child’s request, so she had to search for a way to open the television.
For her sake, jiā huì entered the room.
“Everything okay?” She asked, looking at her wife body with worry.
And Eywa obligated the body to nod, she knew that possesing it for this long would have taken great energy. And she could feel the legs ready to give out, she only sitted in the bed and pointed at Spider.
jiā huì looked at her son, and a loving smile came on her face.
The love of a mother was something else, a too much dangerous power.
Only a glimpse of her son and jiā huì began to smile, and he wasn’t even biologically hers.
It was too complicated to describe, and the body was too tired.
Eywa let the body lay down on the bed, meanwhile before letting it fall asleep, she watched attentively as jiā huì put the silly bear, and as the body’s eyes closed, she could hear Spider giggles when the silly bear appeared on the magic box.
a/n: my first time writing so im sorry if this is kinda shitty.
after 5 years with the Metkayina clan the sullys finally returned to the forest bringing along tsireya and ao’nung. Reader reunites with lo’ak her promised mate, to find out he already has one.
Warnings: angst, cheater?Lo’ak (sorry yall)
disclaimer: past lo’ak is 19, (cheater! lo’ak is 23)
part 1 ——— part 2 (tbc)
The horns were blaring indicating that there were someone coming, people rushed to the landing area to see who is was.
“TORUK MACTO AND HIS FAMILY HAS RETURNED” someone yelled. That caught my attention immediately, it’s been five years since the sullys brought the love of my life away, it's been hell but i managed.
According to your friends and family, you two were a match made in heaven, initially it was an arranged marriage, the plan was to fake it for one year. However slowly it turned real, it was the best thing that happened in my life.
When the sullys announced that they were leaving, i was devastated, i spent the last days with lo'ak, i couldn't leave his side.
"i'll come back for you, i promise, me and you against the world yea?" his hazel eyes staring deep into mine never failed to make me feel safe. "me and you against the world." i smiled.
I rushed to the landing zone, abandoning the necklace i was making, it felt like my legs were flying off, when i finally arrived i pushed my way to the front of the crowd, my heart fluttered at the sight of him, "LO'AK! i yelled on the top of my lungs, it only took him one second to look over her, i was as happy as i could get, however his expression wasn't mirrored, but replaced with a expression i can't read.
It was until then i saw someone behind him, a girl, my expression faltered, it's okay maybe she's his friend. my eyes flickered down to her arms, wrapped around his waist, she had beautiful curls, light blue skin, her eyes were these captivating baby blues, she was beautiful.
"(name)!!!" my eyes left lo'ak's and connected with Tuk's. she jumped off of Neytiri's ikran and rushed over to me, i immediately took her in my arms and gave her a big hug, "i missed you Tuk!" closing my eyes, "me too! lo'ak look it's (name)!".
"yeah i know i saw..". i was too focused on hugging Tuk to realize that he was already right in front of me, god he was so different, much more taller, muscular, he smelled different, his braids were longer, filled with new beads but he was still lo'ak, my lo'ak.
i stared into his eyes, my smile appeared again, i was just so happy to see him, i leaned forward and hugged him, my arms wrapped around his neck, he returned the favour and wrapped his around my waist. after a while i let go, staring into his eyes, i leaned in for a kiss but he dodged it, leaning his face to the right allowing my lips to land on his cheek.
i frowned, and let go of him, "whats wrong?" my eyes flickering to the girl i assumed to be his friend, "who's she?", she noticed my attention was on her, she was walking over here, why was she walking over here?, "hi! my name is tsireya! you must be one of lo'ak's friends, he talked a lot about his friends back home, i just can't wait to meet them!". "im sorry? what? friends??" i chuckled, "no, no, no im lo'ak's m-", "best friend! she's my best friend" he dryly chuckled cutting me off. "(name)! tsireya is my uhh my uh..", "lo'ak? are you okay?" tsireya questioned.
"(name) tsireya is my mate.." he finally said. i didn't know how react, i was frozen, tears filled my eyes, the surrounding omatikayans’ chatting with jake and neytiri looking around shocked, there were quiet gasps and murmurs all around. "lo'ak why are they reacting like this?...". Tsireya questioned uncomfortably. before lo'ak had the chance to come up with another lie, i gathered upp all my feelings, and couraged up to say,
Wc: 4.8k
Warnings/Tags: tsutey x f!Reader, human!reader, yandere behavior, stalking, obsessive behavior, tsu’tey is a bit scary here, traditional yandere kidnapping, Jake makes a cameo, Tsutey refers to the reader as mate.
A/N: So uh.. I dont know why the full thing ended up being 8k either but enjoy this first part (this is one of the most mid things i’ve written ever but)
Extremity Scale: 4/5
Type of Yandere: Overprotective, desperate, violent (not to reader), slightly manipulative
-The forest of pandora gives, endlessly, mercily, and without seeking in return as long as the energy of life is respected and cycled properly
-Bioluminiscent ferns lit the trodden soil in the cool nights, guiding ways to hunts, hometree, waterfalls, and spirit trees alike, animals graze on the herbous plants that made themselves home to the forest floor, age old trees and forests that served to harbor navi, young viperwolves, pandora gives and gives, only taking what was necessary for survival
-And so does a particular warrior of the Omaticaya Clan
-Tsutey was no rookie to the cycle of sacrifice and giving in the life of a navi
-He had given everything to be the sculpted, skilled, and scorn sigma he is now
-Climbing through the piles of tasks, waking up before the dawn everyday to dedicate his every breath to the clan, muscles trained to protect even if eyes were closed in deep sleep
-Ever since completing his coming of age trials, the tribe held no candidate for the next olo’ekytan other than the overachieved young man that had rose through the ranks like it was his destiny to be the best, at everything and anything
-Whether it was direhorses, ikrans, or even thanators, the creatures of pandora bowed at his will and he was able to tame his first ikran at the record setting age of 8
-His physical ability was no surprise either, the young man who hunted with the accuracy of the eye from eywa, though never taking more than the clan needed
-His loyalty to the omaticaya was also unmatched, always the first to lead a hunt, offer his share of food to a young navi, training adolescents, taking up any dangerous risky situations in the name of assistance
-He gave his all in absolutely everything he did, his heart pumped beats of dedication to his clan, strong arms working to hunt and support the people he loved, mind laid down solely on the purpose of serving his community, giving, giving, and giving more
-It was his nature, and though he seemed like an intimidating, judgemental man in the eyes of other members of his clan, he never complained about doing what he had to for his home
-However, it seemed that the more Tsutey gave to the world, the more they took from him instead
-Draining him of passion with piling the responsibilities, looking eyes, and hovered breath on the next olo’ekytan in line
-Suddenly, the kill he brought back from hunts didn’t seem enough, hungry eyes always seem to ask for more, more, more
-Suddenly, more and more tasks were layered on to him with no specific reason
-At first, they only took his energy, his loving nature towards the clan became more of a scorned pain as he dutifully agreed to risk his life over and over again
-The tasks eventually drained him of the humble, dedication he had clung to over the years, his pride only settling in the growing reliance and place of authority and respect he rose to be in the clan, because the members themselves didn’t exactly see much other than that
-While others his age were able to scamper about finding mates, he was stamped day and night at posts in the forest acquiring materials for the people
-But what could he do? It was for the greater good, and in any way, who would step up to do it if it wasnt him? If it wasn’t the prodigy warrior of the forest clan who was much too good to be true?
-Then when the sky people began to settle, everything began to be snatched from the corner of his eye
-It all began to collapse with the damned avatar, Jake Sully, strolling into the tribe Tsutey had sustained and supported with his bare hands for years and accepted without much of a protest from anyone in the tribe
-He had to give more and more, investing in a person he didn’t even want, training him, leading him to tame his ikran
-Before he could even prove his point of the avatar being an infiltrator by demonstrating to the clan, the newbie had snatched his promised mate, neytiri, right away from him
-Truthfully, tsutey knew deep down he and neytiri didn’t feel anything for each other besides mutual respect, but this was a hard blow from the hard resolve he had been holding onto since life began to drain him
-It seemed unfair, even a sky person could find a mate in a little less than 3 months, what contributions had Jake even made to the clan other than clumsily stumbling through hunts? All Jake was is another taker, another person who relished in the harbor of the home tsutey fought to protect, gave everything for, taking everything without appreciation
-Tsutey was tired of it, drained after neytiri announced her and jake’s union, he was done
-He was done with giving
-He was done with the rituals he dedicated himself for in the greater good of the tribe
-His heart still pumped loyalty, but his heart was also tired
-Tired giving and giving with no return.
-Maybe it’s his turn to take something. For his own.
-After all, he deserves it more than anyone
Tsutey’s trudging through the forest, arrow in hand even though he didn’t intend to hunt anything. He wanted to take something, out of spite, just to prove that he can own something, something that belongs to him. Take something instead of giving himself out until he’s hollow. Show that he didnt have to be the sacrificial honorable clan warrior he always takes on.
God, when was the last time he’s been in the forest for a purpose other than for serving the tribe?
Lost in his thoughts, he stopped marching through the soil angrily.
He had been stomping on the grounds that gave him life, gave him everything, the air he breathes, the fruits he savors, and now he’s taking his anger out on the forest for the stress he’s been feeling
Staring into the muddy reflection in the water, he sees eyebags, cracked face paint for the most recent hunt, bright free strands of air tinted red at the end looking distressed
The bright pandora night vibrates around him, as he takes deep breaths and continues pacing onto “his spot”
The spot he went to unwind and relax before Jake sully came, before life seemed to take more and more from him. After a bit of sidetracking and remembering paths, he arrived
However, something wasn’t right
He inspected the moss surrounding the area, still green and vibrant, the tree branches, though now longer, still extended from the same angle from the main trunk, what is it?
He took a deep breath to process before it hit him. A scent. But not just any scent, a human scent
His blood boiled, finally, he had came to his spot to relax and unwind and even that's being taken away from another sky person
Another one? Did Sully send an extra spy? He thought scornfully as he quietly trailed the scent
Stepping closer and closer until it was certain to be near, tsutey narrowed his lime colored eyes, four nimble fingers running against the auburn of the wood cylinder on his arrow. Searching for a small frame that smelled of soft cotton until he spotted you. He gulped.
He softened a bit at your dress, instead of cargoes and thick vests that the human warriors wore with their heavy firearms and came to suck Pandora dry of its resources, you were wrapped in a crisp lab coat, the same kind his childhood teacher who taught him english - Dr Augstine- used to wear. He could see your back, as you were hunched over on the ground, delicate hands trembling as stray locks fell from the messy scrunchie ponytail you held your hair in as some strands were held under the snug band of a camera around your neck.
A scientist? Tsutey pondered, pupils dilating as he snuffed out your scent, trying to distinguish it under the blouse that fit you snugly.
God, you were all wrapped up in unnecessary layers of sky people layers like a gift for him. And oh god did he wanna take you.
With the grace and expertise of a trained warrior, he stepped closer without making a sound, ears tipping towards your direction to pick up signs of why you were laying on the ground
Suddenly, his senses picked up a strong punch of blood, he gulped as he realized it, a small patch of red under your arm that spread through the pristine white of your lab coat. But it wasn’t your blood.
He tilted his head to catch a hint of a pali (direhorse) foal, bleeding out as one of it’s small hooves caught painfully onto a split branch, you had pulled it out and were now wrapping it’s hooves
His heart tingled as you cooed softly, admiring your gentleness as your fingers curled around hoove, pressing the human gauze into the wound as you layed down, wet soil mulching into the flappy ends of your lab coat as you treated the foal
Oh never in his navi life had he wished so desperately for eywa to take his soul and put it in the injured direhourse, he wanted to feel this cotton sky girl’s touch, your gentle fingers that ran across the deep injuries he stuffed away to give endlessly to others.
Never in his navi life had he been so grateful to have his sharper senses, and exceptional eyesight, built to sculpt out the tiniest of movements in the dim nights on pandora even without bioluminiscent plants helping, it was the reason why he was basically a arms length away from you but can smell you, see you, and just almost feel you like you were next to him. Where he was so sure you belonged
That was when Tsutey decided to take you
Well, not immediately, and definitely not because of the way his world seemd to melt and his instincts sharpened to smell you, hear you, and god- he imagined touching you.
He closed and eyes and imagined it, splitting resolutions of holding you underneath him, your pretty little body, so much smaller than his, biting into your lab coat as he mated and-
No, that's not why he decided to take you
He obviously only wanted to observe you as a potential prisoner of war and another alien sky person he can bring back to the tribe to show how the invasive species have been encroaching more
That’s exactly why he decided to silently move boulders around your path, gritting his teeth as he lifted the heavy rocks three times his size, silently gliding through the lush forest and blocking every possible way you had to reach the RDA lab or even contact them again, creating a nice enclosed radius so that he can observe this prisoner of war (charged for stealing his heart)
After the inital trap was set. He waited. You seemed to finally come to your senses to let the foal heal on its own when the night settled matte black around you
His heart pierced with thrill as he began to smell your panic, your widened eyes and your useless flimsy arms that tried to push over the boulders a certain navi warrior planted to capture you (what were you thinking? You couldn’t move these without the strength training tsutey had from wrestling ikrans, silly girl)
After a while, you and the pali foal both lay down in the opening of “his spot”, which was an intimate cave, decorated by tsutey’s memories with the vibrant yellow paint on the stone walls.
Even in a threatening situation, your eyes stayed glued on the foal, muttering in fluid english under your breath about it’s “adolescence” and “need for its mother” as you took off the crimped ivory hair band that bound your now dissheveled hair, wrapping it around the foal’s
Hmm, maybe Tsutey wouldn’t immediately take bind you and take you back to the tribe, not because he was getting soft for you, but clearly because the foal needed more treatment
His heart almost swells in pride, finally seeing someone take care of Pandora with the same hospitality it gave, with the same hospitality tsutey gave. What else could he possibly do? You were so helpless and he was the only one who could possibly help you in this situation!
That night, he found himself in a trance, tail swatting against the cave happily as he watched you sleep after you took pictures of the foal for documentation (funnily enough, you wanted photo evidence to show your coworkers back at the lab, like you were ever gonna see them again), when he heard soft puffs of air from your nose becoming slow and steady, he decided to take the pali foal back
He tread carefully, until he gently uncurled the foal from you, its hoove still wrapped in your scrunchie.
He had made the smallest move in his boulder, dropping the foal off at the nearest direhorse den before rushing back to you. His heart beat with the unfamiliarity of taking something, so unapologetically, so fearlessly, but everything felt so right. The scrunchie that had been wrapped loosely around the foal’s hoof was now clean of blood and bound tightly around his own wrist, the ivory color complimenting his azure skin
By the time he made it back to the cave, the morning eclipse had risen, light slowly pouring into the mouth of the cave. He watched slowly as you woke up, panicked when you didn't see the foal anymore. You groan, the sore in your shoulder from sleeping on the stone floor of the cave becoming stronger as you stand up. Still dazed and slightly panicked as you made your way around, uslessly pushing the stone boulders that remainedl stiff and restricting. You had given up on leaving, and instead curled up on the forest floor, sighing as fat tears rolled down your cheeks. What have you gotten yourself into? Is this what you deserved for helping out like an idiot? All you wanted was to nurse the poor foal and guide it to safety like a decent human. You had no means of communication with the RDA or the lab, and now you’re stranded all alone without even a source of water or someone to talk to.
Well, while you might’ve been right about having someone to talk to, you definitely weren’t alone.
Tsutey frowned when he smelled the saltine tears and heard your sniffs. Had he messed something up already? He was doing a huge favor for you! You were just a bit too overwhelmed to see it. Was it so bad for him to seperate you from those resource hungry humans that couldn’t possibly appreciate your kindness and generosity towards Pandora like he did? Questions raced through his mind, and unfortunately he knew exactly who to ask. And he quietly tread out, the slight crunch of a boulder moving unnoticed as you lay on the ground, scared and lonely.His poor mate! She’s all worked up, clearly she hasn’t ever had someone court her in such privacy, maybe she needs some food to calm down, that's it!
Tsutey sprinted his way back to hoemtree, swinging by his hut for the briefest second and giving a sleep deprived scowl as he got the biggest straw basket he could find. On his way out, he pushed aside any adolescents pestering him for training lessons and respectably denied any hunt leads with a shallow bow of his head, not giving them a drop of attention of time.
Tsutey had just gotten to the base of hometree, arms clad with a basket full of fruits and a canteen of water before a familiar, english dialect infected voice sounded. “Tsutey, hold on!” the newly mated Sully scampered forward, awkwardly holding out his five fingers as if he didn’t already know navi didnt like those
Tsutey turned the other cheek, not wanting to waste more of his darling's time on the awkward conversation that was sure to follow with the avatar.
“Listen, I just wanna say I never knew you and Neytiri were-” Tsutey huffs impatiently, red strands hitting the side of his cheek as he looks to him
“It doesn’t matter Sully, I don’t care anymore” Tsutey says, feet already taking him down the path to the forest
“H-hey wait, whose scrunchie is that?” Jake calls out, fingers around tsutey’s wrist as it caressed the distinctly human design of a hairband
Tsutey nearly swung the basket at Jake's face when he felt fingers touch something so precious, the only possession he had from his mate. “God, Sully, planning to steal my actual mate from me now?” the words came out without filter, and he can see Sully’s amber eyes widen as the words computed
“What?” The avatar exclaimed in full english, numb fingers falling from the scrunchie as Jake blinked his eyes hard as if he was hallucinating the conversation
Tsutey rolled his eyes, he knew he shouldve just got going instead of talking
“Well, since you’re here anyways, mind telling me some human friendly pandorian fruits or anything that can make them more comfortable?” It wasn’t a request, more of a demand as Tsutey picked the canteen of water off the ground and into the basket again
The dumbstruck avatar shook his head “Wait- Tsutey- who even”
“I’ll answer after you tell me what a human scientist female’s favorite fruit can be”
With Jakes help, Tsutey was able to acquire a makeshift blanket, which Jake had emphasized was very important for humans and their comfort in sleep, some pandorian fruits similar to popular earth fruits, and Jake even helped Tsutey write a note in English to go in the basket full of goodies to comfort your captivity status
Jake almost offered to follow along with Tsutey to be an interpreter, and Tsutey almost fought him on the mere idea. How dare Sully judge his English skills? What if he helped his darling escape? He shook the thoughts out of his head and made his way back to where you were instead, thoughts heavy as his arms cradled the heavy basket of goods for you
Although Tsutey was excited to claim you as his officially, he wanted to subtly ease into it, with small signs and mating gestures. What you definitely didn’t need right now was a 10 feet navi overwhelming you
Plus, what could he possibly say? “Hey, I just saw you yesterday, I love you, I love the way you do everything, I love that you healed an animal, I need you to be my mate, you make me feel like a valid person again, and I don’t even know why I’m so attracted to you? You’re too pure to be hanging out with your breed and I’m just acting the initiative to protect and take what’s meant for me”
No, all those words were useless, and anyways, Tsutey was always more of a physical and show over tell person, so he’d slowly earn his way to your heart, no matter how twisted it is because in all honesty, it shouldn’t be hard for you to accept since he was the only one you’d be interacting with in this enclosed piece of the forest
So, he dropped the basket off, as your overwhelmed frame was curled up in the corner of the cave, back facing the opening as you sniffled before you were interrupted with a clad thump agains the stone floor
You sprang to your feet defensively, hands in front of you as if you were gonna be able to defend yourself from whatever the forest of pandora had to offer
Your swollen eyes narrow on a handwoven basket, overflowing with things sitting in the opening of the cave. Were you hallucinating? Did you die or was that a basket full of fruit that looked awfully familiar to what you always craved as a kid?
You slowly creep closer to the basket, looking around the opening of the cave, stepping out to completely scan your surroundings for any movement or sign of another living mammal that could’ve dropped this well-coordinated basket of essentials
After spotting absolutely no one except for hearing the hint of polymeruses hooting a few hundred feet away (tsutey was actually hiding on top of the cave, perched elegantly as he watched you scan your surroundings like a cautious cat. you were too short to see him from that angle.) you decide to settle back into the sunlight of the cave opening, carefully peeling back the thick woven blanket as a crumple of paper fell out, your fingers frame around it, deciphering the english even through Tsutey’s rough handwriting (nothing you weren’t used to as a lab scientist)
“I didn’t mean to make you cry. I just can’t let you go now that I’ve found you. Please just eat and stay healthy right now, or I might have to show myself a bit earlier than I’d like and feed you. I hope you like the blanket.”
Your hand shakes as you read the note. So it wasn’t any coincidence? Someone had seen you and trapped you here? When? How? Why? Your heart raced as you ran through the millions of possibilities, but all of the panic was gone as soon as you saw the canteen of water. God you were thirsty, you hadn’t drank in how who knows how many hours it had been since you last drank anything. The canteen was downed immediately and tsutey’s hand unclenched when he heard you drinking.
There was progress! You’re allowing him to take care of you, more or less, mate or not.
You picked up a fruit, ripe, washed, and about the size of your palm. Biting into it reminded you of moments on earth when they still had fruits, before most fresh foods went extinct as people prioritized corrupt tech industries and manufacturing over agriculture. You look at the fruit in wonder before you take a second bite, relaxing and reading the note again, sighing as you accept your situation
Well, goodbye to your underpaid, overworked position at the RDA, your heart did twinge at the fact that an unknown person (person? Navi? Pandorian mammals that can speak and write English, who knows) had intentionally trapped you. But if they were nice enough to give you fruit, water, blanket, and even the grace of a handwritten note, there’s no way they can be that bad, right?
Tsutey’s face carves into a rare, toothy smile. Holding back a heart chuckle when he sees you chew through the fruit and visibly relax. See? You were so perfect for him, you had just been hungry and panicked before.
By the time you finished, you decided to set the blanket up in the corner of the cave that you slept in, putting your heavy camera down in the basket as you lifted the blanket. You inspected the woven material, trying to decipher any hint of where it came from, it seemed to be made of fur with a base of what felt awfully like woven bamboo. You recognized a traditional omaticaya pattern and from the scent left, it smelled of a male.
For an unknown reason, the scent relaxed you, you gulped and beat yourself up in your head. Why were you sniffing a blanket a stranger gave you? God you were being even creepier than whoever was holding you captive here.
You had decided to dispose of the remains of your fruit (the big pit in the middle) by replanting them, you head over to pull them out of the basket before you realize it’s gone without a trace, and so is your camera, all left is the note.
Your heart picked up, realizing whoever sent you it had been actively watching to make sure you ate and finished, before taking it.
With a lighter mindset about your current predicament, you decided to pace around, examining the strategically placed stones as you explore the little area around you. It was nice, to be honest, it seemed to be a hideout spot. You pace back to your cave, you couldn’t see it last night due to the lack of light but you make out little paintings on the cave, hint of life and creation. Could it be that many people have been here before? Was your capturer regularly kidnapping humans? How many have been here before?
Dark thoughts rush down your spine with a chill as you take a deep breath, closing your eyes and trying to think rationally. Why would they take the time to feed you and keep you alive, going as far as giving you a blanket? You knew Navi well, they acted on their intention and if your capturer had wanted to kill you, you’re almost sure he would’ve done it, or at least send you back to his tribe to question it
You wonder if it could be an avatar? You hand’t known many Navi to be able to speak English. You shook the opportunity away, there was only Jake, who had assimilated well to the omaticaya tribe now and would never go this far out from the main village.
Your mysterious captor, on the other hand, was rushing back to the home tree and gushing to Jake about how successful the first basket of goods had been, demanding Jake to tell him more ways of earning a human female’s heart as he rushed to fill the basket up with a variety of goods.
Jake picks up the RDA scientist issued camera, recognizing it as he tilted it, flipping through your previous photos.
“So, a scientist? Interesting, Tsutey” Sully says lightly, watching as tsutey again denied any regular tasks and strode around, looking for something new to give you to eat
Tsutey’s head flashes to the camera as Jake clicks through it, multiple photos of your lab results and the recent picture of the injured foal lighting up on the screen.
“Suppose so” Tsutey says in english, peering through the dialog of your photos
As Tsutey scowls through the the puffed grain selection, scrutinizing each one as if he doubted if it was good enough for you, Jake silently clicked a photo of Tsutey’s frame, chest leaned over the basket as his toned arms reached to select the most perfect of grains. He then closes the camera and slips the black machine back into the basket wordlessly
By the night time, you were leaning against the trunks of a tree, examining the bioluminiscent moss that adorned the wood before you heard a quiet tap on stone floor
You look back towards the direction of your cave, recognizing the basket as you see it loaded with more food, what seemed to be puffed grain, and your camera returned.
You weren’t exactly famished yet, so you picked up your camera first, opening the lens to snap a picture of the moss. Might as well make the most tof your time here as a scientist and not just as someone held captive. The screen loads but lands on a recent photo in the dialog instead of the lens perspective and you catch a pretty full photo of sleek, toned arms, the beaded layered neck cover adorning his upper chest as he leaned over a familiar basket as nimble fingers sorted through grain, the blue skin clad against woven strings of a loingcloth that hung low on the hips. And ah, there, the scrunchie you had wrapped around the direhorse yesterday, cleaned and sitting cozy on his wrist. There was a hint of a tail but photo ended at the chest, giving you no identity information without the face
The corners of your lips lifted in admiration and your heart raced as the pieces fit together, so it was a navi who was watching you and caring for you, taking the time to hand pick out your food. You recognized the sculpted form of an omaticaya warrior anywhere. And who took the photo? Not many navi knew how to operate a modern camera
Questions float through your head, and from his spot on the roof of the cave, Tsutey’s heart leapt too. Damn the sully, of course he snapped a photo using your machine. It was lucky enough that he didn’t expose his entire face, but his thoughts were quenched as soon he saw your little grin while you stared at the photo. His photo
You smile one last time, clicking a save to the photo of Tsutey before you go back to the lens to take a photo of the moss. Your second night in the cave was spent munching on puffed grain, huddled in the musky pine scented blanket as you dreamed of beaded neck covers and toned blue arms.
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